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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25461211">Last Night On Earth</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheShortestManOnEarth/pseuds/TheShortestManOnEarth'>TheShortestManOnEarth</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Glimmadora Week 2020 [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>AU, Adora is a dorky ghost, Bittersweet Ending, Comfort, Entrapta is a ghost expert, Eventual Happy Ending?, F/F, Ghost Micah might appear and make bad Dad jokes, Ghosts, Glimmadora week, Glimmer needs a friend so she talks to a ghost, Glimmer wants to give Adora a hug but ghost, Hauntings, Healing, Hurt, Non magical characters but still supernatural stuff happens, Not Actually Horror, Past Mentioned Death of Characters, light fluff, supernatural prompt, when your best friend is a ghost</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-07-23</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-03-21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 10:21:21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Major Character Death</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>8</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>29,234</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25461211</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheShortestManOnEarth/pseuds/TheShortestManOnEarth</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>When Glimmer and her mother move to the small town of Alwyn from their home in Bright Moon, they both are looking for a new beginning and a way to heal from the death of Glimmer's Dad. At first it seems like the only thing interesting about Glimmer's new house is the fact that the old place is still standing despite how unstable it looks. </p><p>Then one afternoon after an almost tragic accident is miraculously averted, Glimmer meets the other resident of the house: a mysterious girl who is incredibly friendly... and incredibly dead. </p><p>With a ghost for a friend, maybe this Summer won't be so bad? </p><p>Inspired by the Glimmadora Week "Supernatural" prompt. I don't know when, but I'll be adding some fanart for this at some point.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Adora &amp; Glimmer (She-Ra), Adora/Glimmer (She-Ra), Angella &amp; Glimmer (She-Ra)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Glimmadora Week 2020 [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1844212</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>33</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. A New Town</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Hi All,</p><p>I know I should be working on "Albatross" and "Someday" but this idea came to me in an abstract sense and only solidified when I saw the prompts for Glimmadora week. Soooo.... despite my best efforts to not start another thing until I finished my two main projects, I am starting this and I am going to see it through. </p><p>I'm taking a lot of my inspiration from Meg Cabot's Mediator Series with parts of this and obviously the rest is my own wacky brain and She-Ra obsession, so bear with me as I work through this. </p><p>At this point I am not sure if this will be a romantic fic or not, but it will definitely have close bonding between Adora and Glimmer. At the very least it will be light fluff. </p><p>I'm holding off on starting any new Glimmadora Week Prompts after this since I accidentally got the idea to make this into a series. But that mostly depends on if people actually like this idea. So any feedback would be super helpful. </p><p>I also may do a prompt based on birthdays soon too since today (Thursday) is my birthday. We shall see. </p><p>Edit 7/24/20: I changed the summary and removed the "graphic violence" tag because I decided to change the initial direction of the story for future chapters. I want to give a big thanks to my best friend for helping me work through a bunch of details of this story and with the second chapter (which will be up soon). I initially was planning to make this a little darker but with my friend's help I reached a more mild direction for the backstory for Adora. I think this will be much happier and I think we all need some fun stuff (I write way too much angst myself). Specific warnings will be given for each chapter as needed. There will also be fan art as soon as I get a chance to draw it. </p><p>Thanks for reading!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> The first word that came to Glimmer’s  mind as their small beat up station-wagon passed the sign for the sleepy town of Alwyn was “Dull”. As far as the pink haired fifteen was concerned, nothing interesting could come from a place that had all its main attractions clustered around a 100-mile radius. Why they were moving here was beyond her understanding. 
	</p><p>  “Oh, that must be your school.” The girl’s eyes rotated to peer out at the small brick building as they drove past. 

	</p><p>  “<em>Greaaaat</em>.” Glimmer muttered. Her Mom was trying a little too hard to convince the teen that this was the right choice. She decided to turn her attention to the sights, more out an attempt to convince her mother that she wasn’t listening any longer than it was to look at the town she would soon have to call home. Nothing about this place could possibly keep her entertained. Another series of identical looking brick buildings that appeared to either be falling apart or were clearly refurbished in an attempt to convince some tourist that this town wasn’t in fact in the middle of nowhere, nestled in between a highway and a stretch of woods that to perfectly honest, had “fairytale creepy” written all over it. The woods were maybe the only thing that Glimmer was even remotely curious about. 

	</p><p>  “Well, we’re here.” Glimmer had zoned out for long enough that they had reached their new home. Or maybe it was just that the town didn’t have enough in it that it would take more than ten minutes to drive anywhere. With a long sigh, Glimmer stepped out of the car and stared at the house. 

	</p><p>  She’d only seen pictures of it before her mother finalized the purchase. Most of them were of the interior. Which was probably a good thing since the outside definitely didn’t scream “live in me”. The thatched roof was rusty, the bricks were old and covered in ivy, and the way the porch slanted reminded Glimmer of the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Except this was the scary type of wonder. 

	</p><p>  “Well, what do you think?” Angella asked, coming up behind her daughter with a smile. Glimmer looked up at her mother, a beat of incredulity lifting her eyebrow in response. 

	</p><p>  “I think…you should ask for your money back.” The teenager said with a grimace. Angella sighed. She should have known better than to expect a snark free answer, yet she had hoped that Glimmer would warm up to the new place. <em>Give it time, Angella. She only just arrived.</em> 

	</p><p>  “Let’s go inside and get unpacked.” Angella said, trying to clear the air. Glimmer stood for a moment before following her Mom back to the car to grab her things from the car. The moving truck wouldn’t arrive for another day or two, so she had packed her essentials in a small day bag and two additional banker sized boxes. It took two trips to move them from the car to the front hall. As she set them down, she cast a look around. 

	</p><p>  Unlike the outside, which had already given Glimmer a couple reasons to question the stability of the house, the inside had a cozier appeal to it. There was a medium sized room to the left of the front hall with a mantle and a fireplace. A big window took up most of the back wall. The entrance to the living space had a set of sliding doors. The paint was chipped but it seemed fine otherwise. As Glimmer walked through to the next room, she found herself in the kitchen. It was simple enough. They would likely need to replace the appliances because none of them looked like they’d been used in over a decade. She backtracked across the linoleum floors to the wooden staircase in the front hall. A small closet was tucked into the underside of the staircase. Glimmer smiled at the sight. Something like that would have fulfilled her childhood dreams of having a space for a pillow fort when she played out her fantasies. 

	</p><p>  When she was younger, the idea of being a princess with magical abilities always seemed like it was withing her grasp. The stars were the limit of possibilities. Her father read her stories of heroes who carried banners and swords. Little Glimmer’s eyes sparkled brighter than the Sun as she kicked her legs back and forth, listening intently to her father’s tales. Many of them he didn’t even need an actual text for. His mind was full of stories. It came with his writing profession. But there was always more to it than just a job. Every story he told had a specific purpose. Especially the ones he penned for Glimmer. 

	</p><p>  She dug through one of her boxes and retrieved a leather- bound tome with her father’s messy handwriting on the front. On the cover, in faded ink was the title “She-Ra”. It was the last novel her father wrote before he passed away. Her mother couldn’t bring herself to send it to the editors and Glimmer hadn’t felt like opening it. It went in a pile of her other assorted books that she’d packed from her room. No move could be made if she didn’t bring pieces of her home with her. Stories would forever be home to her. 

	</p><p>  The floorboards outside creaked, announcing Angella’s presence. Glimmer turned in anticipation. “Are you getting settled in?” 

	</p><p>  The teen’s mind screamed a million words of denial and frustration. What came out was a tired, “Why did we move here, Mom?” The older woman’s body sagged a little as she leaned against the doorframe. There were many answers to that question. Some of them would be an answer better saved for when Glimmer was a little older. Others were cobbled up in a mess of emotions that Angella herself had yet to unbox. 

	</p><p>  “Oh, Glimmer,” She said, coming over to sit on the floor with her daughter. “I’m sorry that we had to move away. I know you’ll miss our old home. But maybe here, we can both start over.” The teen didn’t respond. “How about we grab something to eat?” 

	</p><p>  “Sure, if there’s a place that isn’t falling apart.” Glimmer muttered. Angella’s sigh couldn’t be contained this time. She truly was trying to look on the bright side for both of their sakes. It was no easy task and the surly teen before her was not making it easy. 

	</p><p>  “Not everything here is falling apart, Glimmer. Some things just take time to adjust to.” Angella said, pursing her lips in disapproval of her daughter’s negative attitude. She stood up and went to the door. “I’ll be downstairs whenever you’re ready.”

	</p><p>  Glimmer grunted. “I’ll <em>never</em> be ready.” But by the time the words had reached her lips her mother had already gone. She grumbled to herself and flopped over onto her side and then her back. What had she done to deserve this? All she wanted was to be a normal kid in high school and grow up with the friends she knew. Now she had to start over. 

	</p><p>  Her gaze roamed across the ceiling. It stopped when she noticed something in the woodgrain. At first it looked like another mark of wear on the surface, but as the girl stood to examine it further, she saw there were letters carved into the wood. 

	</p><p>  “A.R. and C.M.?” Glimmer read, the initials confusing her more now that she had a good look at them. “The heck?” 

	</p><p>  “Glimmer?” The call from downstairs jarred her from her mystery solving before she could contemplate it for another minute. “We should go before it gets too late.”

	</p><p>  “Coming!” Glimmer called. She took one last look at the ceiling before heading downstairs. This house wasn’t much to look at, but it had a history of some sort. And her father always said that everything had a history and history was just another story waiting to be told. “Story is one half of the word history,” He explained. “So, if you see them, you’ll have to say ‘Hi, I’m Story.” Glimmer used to groan at her father’s terrible joke. Now she wished she could hear one of them from every day for the rest of her life.

</p><p>------------
 
	</p><p>  They found a late-night diner type restaurant to eat called “Huntara’s Grill”. The name was as strange as they came, but that went with the theme of the whole town. As they perused the menus, the server came over. He was a skinny guy with messy blonde hair and a bit of an awkward way of moving around. It was as if he was afraid to trip over his own feet. The boy was around Glimmer’s age if the appearance of acne on his face and his nervous shifts in volume were any indication of the unfortunate knocks of being a teenaged boy. 

	</p><p>  “Hi! I’m Kyle, I’ll be your server this evening.” The boy stammered out in an entirely too quick manner. Glimmer raised an eyebrow at him. He glanced between the two. 
	</p><p>  “I haven’t seen you around.” Kyle said, directing his comment more at Glimmer than Angella. “Did you just move here?” <em>Of course</em>, this town was small enough that anyone new might as well wear a “I don’t belong here” sign everywhere. 

	</p><p>  “We just arrived here earlier today, yes.” Angella said with a warm smile. 

	</p><p>  “Oh, then, welcome! You’ll like it here in Alwyn. It’s a little small, but everyone here is nice.” Kyle said with a grin. He blinked and then smacked his forehead. “Argh, I almost forgot to ask for your drink order. Um, what would you like to drink?” 

	</p><p>  Glimmer groaned and sunk her face into the table. Angella shot her daughter a reproachful look that had no effect on the intended target but rattled the already flustered Kyle into a nervous mess. 
	</p><p>  “I’ll have some tea.” Angella said. “Thank you, Kyle.” The boy looked from mother to daughter and back again. 
	</p><p>  “Strawberry milkshake please.” Glimmer mumbled. It was impressive that Kyle could parse out anything from the pink haired girl as her face was still smushed into the table. 

	</p><p>  “Kyle! Quit messing around and get back in the kitchen!” A broad-shouldered woman with square jaw, long silver hair pulled back in a ponytail, and scars on her biceps yelled from behind the pick-up counter in the kitchen. 

	</p><p>  “Uh, yes, Ma’am, Ms. Huntara!” Kyle yelled and scrambled from the table to the kitchen without another word to the two women seated in the booth. Glimmer perked her head up as they were left alone. 

	</p><p>  “He seemed nice.” Angella said. “I don’t know why you didn’t try to talk to him.” Glimmer snorted, earning her another stony glance from her mother. 

	</p><p>  “About what?” Glimmer asked. It was a genuine question. She didn’t know how to talk to other teens, unless it was someone she already knew. Meeting new people was hard. With the move she only anticipated it would get harder. 

	</p><p>  “Anything? School, his favorite book?” She gave a small nudging gesture with her head in the direction of the kitchen. “Why this diner’s owner’s name is so weird?”
	</p><p>  Glimmer chuckled at that. On the rare occasion, Angella did have a sense of humor. It showed a lot less than before her husband passed, but it turned up every now and then. “Go on, try talking to him.” 
	</p><p>  “Moooom.” Glimmer moaned. As Kyle came back, balancing a tray of drinks precariously on his arm, she dreaded talking and having her Mom watch like she was doing a sport. Glimmer didn’t like sports and found the idea of being stared at by hundreds of people to be uncomfortable. 

	</p><p>  “Here you are.” Kyle said, breathing relief it seemed from not dropping the drinks on the floor. “Have you decided on what you’d like to eat? I, uh, hate to rush you, but we’re closing the kitchen soon.”

	</p><p>  “I’ll have a tuna melt, please. Thank you, Kyle.” She looked over at Glimmer with an encouraging smile. Glimmer wanted to die of embarrassment. But unfortunately, she lived to place her order. 
	</p><p>  “Um, grilled cheese please.” She said, avoiding looking at either of the other two people. Glimmer was a simple person. She hadn’t changed her food preferences much over the years and had no intention of starting any time soon. Kyle nodded and scribbled some notes on his order pad. 

	</p><p>  “I’ll get those in for you right away.” Kyle said and turned. As he started away, he paused. “Uh, by the way, if you don’t mind my asking… where are you two living now? I didn’t see a any places up for sale recently.” 

	</p><p>  Angella smiled, answering for the two. “Oh, we moved into the old house up the road. The Reynold’s House I believe it was called in the listing.” 

	</p><p>  Kyle’s eyes almost bugged out of his head. Glimmer’s attention peaked as he stared at them. “The Reynold’s House?” He rubbed the back of his neck. “That’s…nice.”

	</p><p>  “Did you say Reynold’s House?” They all looked over to the order window once more as Huntara walked out, cleaning off her hands on her apron. 

	</p><p>  “Yes?” Angella repeated, not quite following the reactions. With every passing moment Glimmer’s interest increased. 

	</p><p>  “Huh. Good luck. That place is haunted. No one has lived there for over a decade.” Huntara said with a loud thunderous laugh. As she walked away, ushering Kyle back for dish duty, Glimmer immediately began to look up where the library was on her phone. First thing tomorrow she was going to find out what she could about this new town. There was a story here and she was determined to find out what it was.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. The Girl Who Wasn't There</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Hi All,</p>
<p>I know the first chapter of this was kinda slow. I felt I needed to do a bit of exposition and it came out a bit slower than I initially wanted it to be. I promise this one has more substance and all the following chapters will have more plot to them. There are also a bunch of things I have planned and I needed to set those up in these two chapters. I am working on this story with the help of my best friend who is also a giant She-Ra fan so chapters will be continually be revised and edited as she gives me feedback. Any additional feedback or comments on how to improve this story would be incredibly appreciated and welcomed as I'm pretty invested in making this story as engaging to read as it is for me to write. </p>
<p>As I mentioned in the summary and in my revised author's note for chapter 1, I am going to make some art for this story. If you have a desire to make art for any of my stories, let me know and I'll be happy to add them to the respective work (as well as promote your art pages on Instagram or Tumblr, etc). </p>
<p>Thanks for reading and let me know what you think!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> A night on the cold hard floor of Glimmer’s new room without its usual brightly colored decorations or personalization was a restless experience to say the least. She was glad her mother suggested bringing a sleeping bag and pillow in case the movers were late. While Angella was often one to overprepare and be overly cautious, Glimmer had learned quickly that in certain situations she needed to just follow her mother’s suggestions and trust that she had a good reason for them. The teen couldn’t say she was always thrilled to go along with her mother, nor would she admit to doing so, but she conceded that in this case, and <em>only</em> this case, Angella was right. 

	</p><p>  The older woman had to stay behind to wait for the movers, but she gave Glimmer a ride to the library and made the girl promise to text when she was ready to come home. That was how Glimmer found herself standing outside of a massive library, perhaps the largest building in the whole town outside of the school, with a bag containing her notebook, pens, and any other supplies she’d need to spend the day at the library. She walked through the gargantuan doors and into the front of the library. She cast a cursory glance around. Other than the occasional odd presence of what looked like some objects out of a fantasy movie in glass display cases scattered about the space, it was a normal looking library. 

	</p><p>  Glimmer made her way to the circulation desk and was startled when an enthusiastic voice caused her to nearly drop her bag. “Hi! Welcome to the Scribner Library!” She looked up at the boy standing before her, grinning broadly. He had short, dark, curly hair and a sweater with a giant heart on it. That wasn’t anything compared to the pure energy in his eyes. Glimmer had never seen anyone so enthusiastic about being in a library of all places. And that was because Glimmer loved libraries and her father was an author. She had spent most of her childhood visiting them when her father did his research. She would follow him around like a duckling fast walking to the pond. 

	</p><p>  “Bow.” A voice whispered sharply from behind the teenager. “Keep your voice down.” A short haired older man with dark hair like Bow’s but with a front set part between his bangs approached the desk. 

	</p><p>  “Oh, but it’s so nice to see him so inspired by what we do.” Another man, this one with longer curly hair stepped up behind Bow and clasped his hands together with a look of pure joy. Glimmer didn’t know what to make of any of this. They all wore matching heart shirts of some kind and it was only then that Glimmer noticed the whole library had hearts engrained in its bookshelves and walls. 

	</p><p>  “So sorry,” The long-haired man said. “I’m Lance. This is my husband, George. And our son, Bow. Welcome to our library!” George groaned and buried his face in his hand. Glimmer could now see where Bow got his enthusiasm from. 

	</p><p>  “Hi. I’m Glimmer.” She felt all three sets of eyes on her. “I just moved here. I was hoping I could find out more about the town?”

	</p><p>  “A tour!” Lance exclaimed. Bow’s eyes widened in excitement. 

	</p><p>  “Wait, what… Um, I just need to-” Glimmer started but she was immediately swept along as Lance charged ahead, starting the tour with Bow tagging behind, leaving George to take control of the circulation desk. 

	</p><p>  As they walked through the library, Lance began a lengthy detailed explanation of the history of the library as they passed the front section. As much as Glimmer loved the history of it all. She still had a mission for the day. Her eyes searched the sections for a sign of where she’d find any sort of information on the town. 

	</p><p>  “Soo, Glimmer, where are you from?” Bow’s bubbly voice interrupted the girl’s thoughts. She looked up at him. It was hard to not to like his warm demeaner. Something about Bow was open. Like the library his Dads ran, Bow’s whole aesthetic and personality welcomed any kind of question or inquiry. Or even any person who wanted to spend time with him. 

	</p><p>  “My Mom and I moved here from Bright Moon yesterday.” Glimmer said, returning his smile. Bow glanced over as Lance took the tour up a flight of stairs. The two teens followed, but neither paid much mind to anything the librarian was saying. Bow rubbed his chin, mostly in a mock humorous way. Glimmer chuckled. 

	</p><p>  “Bright Moon, huh? Must be weird coming from such a big city to this small town.” He said. From the sigh and nod, Bow read between the lines of his new acquaintance’s demeanor. “If you need anything, just come find me. I’m almost always helping here outside of school. You can visit any time.”  

	</p><p>  Glimmer paused for a second, checking to see that Lance wasn’t paying attention as he was still wrapped up in a long-winded lecture on how the stacks were organized. “Can you help me look something up?”
	</p><p>  Bow raised an eyebrow, then smirked and leaned over and whispered in a conspiratorial tone, “Is this a top-secret quest?” 

	</p><p>  Glimmer returned his tone with a conspiratorial nod. “Super-secret.”

	</p><p>  Bow was curious now. He dropped the goofy act for a moment as he asked, “So what are you looking for?”

	</p><p>  “Well, Mom and I just moved into the Reynold’s House. I guess I want to know more about it.” At that moment Glimmer became acutely aware of the fact that Lance had stopped talking altogether. Both he and Bow were staring at Glimmer. <em>Not this again.</em> 

	</p><p>  “Did you say the Reynold’s House?” Lance repeated. Glimmer didn’t like how this was running in circles. She nodded, hoping silently that she’d get more information out of them than she did Huntara or Kyle on the subject. “Well, we do have records of all the news stories and most of the residents. I can see what I can find for you.” 

	</p><p>  “Thank you, that would be great, uh…Mr.…” Glimmer struggled on what to call him. Lance was quick to jump in to alleviate the girl’s discomfort. 

	</p><p>  “Please, call me Lance.” He smiled. “You go find a seat at one of our research tables and I’ll bring you what I can find on the Reynold’s House. I’m not sure how much I can promise though. The house was already abandoned by the time George and I moved here.” 

	</p><p>  Lance then left Bow and Glimmer to locate one of the research tables. Bow directed Glimmer and the two settled in to wait. While the pink haired girl had been in many libraries, she’d never used the research sections. As a kid she was far more interested in the fantasy sections than anything else. Which was fine by her father, who was happy as long as she was reading something. 

	</p><p>  Bow smiled over at Glimmer as she took out her notebook and pen. “You came prepared.” 

	</p><p>  She shrugged. “I told my Mom I was planning to spend the day here.” Internally she noted that she literally had no options of where to go outside of the currently empty house she moved into and here in the library. Her eyes went to the stairs as Lance reappeared once more, a bunch of books and box of worn out pages from newspapers peeking out of the sides. 

	</p><p>  With a loud <em>thwump</em> that shook the entire table, Lance set down the box and books. “Well, these are all the records of the town. I’m not sure which ones would be about the Reynold’s house specifically, but if there is anything, it would be in here.” 

	</p><p>  “Thanks, Lance.” Bow smiled up at his Dad. “This is a lot of stuff. How do you even find it that fast?”

	</p><p>  Lance smiled and pressed a hand to his chest, “Many years of practice and passion. And…a love for knowledge!” 

	</p><p>  “Lance.” The whispered reprimand got Bow trying to stifle his laugh. 

	</p><p>  “Sorry, sorry. I’ll be quieter.” Lance said, but with no less enthusiasm. “So, Glimmer, where are your parents today? Are you here alone?”

	</p><p>  She blinked and looked up from the page she was reading. For a moment she forgot there were other people around her. It was an old habit borne of years of reading late into the night with her bedside lamp on. “Sorry, did you say something?” 

	</p><p>  Lance smiled, laughing a little. “A girl after my own heart. Lost in the texts already. I was just asking if your parents were around.” At <em>parents</em> Glimmer’s mind snapped out of focus. Right, because most people had <em>two</em> parents. As George rounded the corner, giving Lance a light squeeze on the shoulders as he asked about Glimmer’s research. All the words turned to a faint muffled garbling of noises. Each one was further away than the next. She sucked in a breath. It’s not like Lance or George meant anything by asking her if she was alone. Or if her parents were there. But there they were: two loving parents, with their kid, in a library. Her Dad would have loved the sight. 

	</p><p> <em>Click. Click. Click.</em> The pen’s tip shot in and out rapidly as Glimmer’s thumb punched the top of her pen. What was she even doing here? Glimmer let out a long sigh. The papers spread out across the table were tempting her, but her eyes kept blurring with the tears that had begun to well up. She used to love this. All the books, all the tables, the search for the perfect story, it hovered over her, and suddenly all she could see was the fact that yes, she was in fact alone in a library. She shoved out her chair with a loud grating sound across the floor, swept her notebook and pen into her bag and muttered a quick, “I have to go.” Then she practically ran from the table. She ignored the calls of confusion and the clear concern in Bow’s voice. But her mind had tuned it all out. 

	</p><p>  Glimmer didn’t stop walking until she realized she’d made it outside and was walking home. Her house wasn’t that far from the library. But it was still far enough that she knew she should call her mother. A brief playing of what Angella would ask when she saw that Glimmer was quick to veto that plan in an instant. She didn’t want to tell her mother that she’d burst into tears in front of a bunch of strangers in a library. They were all so nice. Bow was a sweet guy and it genuinely felt like he was trying to befriend Glimmer. So why was this so hard? 

	</p><p>  Glimmer continued to walk home along the road. At this point she considered it a walk of shame. After all the effort she’d gone to in finding out what was going on with the new house and asking Lance to bring out the materials, she couldn’t stand herself. Every few minutes she kicked a couple of rocks out of her path or attempted to sink further into the hoodie hugging her neck. No matter how much she wanted to just vanish she still felt the ground beneath her feet. Finally, she reached the driveway of the house. She was dreading the questions her mother would inevitably ask. But on close examination she noticed that the moving van was parked in the driveway. Now was the time to sneak past while Angella was preoccupied. 

	</p><p>  Glimmer plowed forward, opening the door and trudging upstairs. A couple of pieces of furniture were already clustered around the banister at the bottom and by Glimmer’s room at the top of the stairs. At the landing near Glimmer’s room Angella stood directing the movers as they attempted to rotate a desk around to fit it through the doorway to Glimmer’s room. A low moan from the floor busted Glimmer’s sneaking attempt and as her mother let out an exclamation of surprise, causing the movers to shift the desk back into Glimmer’s stomach. The girl swung her arms around to try to catch her balance, but the unexpected force of the desk sent her stumbling towards the stairs. 

	</p><p>  “Glimmer!” The cry was too late as gravity pulled the girl over the top step. Fear dropped a sickening jolt into her stomach. Then the floor rumbled and out of the corner of her eye Glimmer saw a shimmer of light before one of the other pieces of furniture sent her sprawling to the side, away from the precarious fall she almost took. Her knees ached as she struck the hardwood floor, but she stared at the cushioned chair that had suddenly, of its own accord, slammed her out of harm’s way. Either the chair wasn’t where she thought it had been or something bizarre had just happened.
	</p><p>  She didn’t have time to contemplate it before her mother wrapped her up in a tight hug and exclaimed, “Glimmer, I was scared. You should be more careful.” Angella paused as she registered that her daughter had returned without following her instructions. “What are you doing home? I told you to text me. ” The girl couldn’t respond as she kept shaking from the experience. She’d almost fallen down a flight of stairs. While it was possible that she might have been fine at the end of it. The feeling of almost falling had her rattled. 

	</p><p>  “I… I’m sorry, Mom.” Glimmer stammered. Angella looked her daughter up and down before deciding this conversation would have to wait. The young woman was still upset and understandably so. A sigh of relief escaped the mother’s lips. She wasn’t over the incident herself. But she remembered then the movers were still present. 

	</p><p>  “Why don’t you wait downstairs until they’re done?” One furtive, wide eyed look at the stairs told Angella that Glimmer wasn’t about to go anywhere near the stairs for a while. She then directed the movers to set the desk down inside the bedroom and move on to a different room so Glimmer could sit in her room. “I’ll be in as soon as they’re done. And we are going to talk about why you left the library without telling me.” The pink haired girl could only manage to nod mutely. 

	</p><p>  Footsteps grew quieter as her mother left to supervise the rest of the movers. Glimmer stared out at the stairs. <em>What the heck just happened?</em>  Now that she was sitting in her room, out of harm’s way, she couldn’t figure out how the chair had managed to knock her out of the way. No amount of review of the event could explain the strangeness of it all. Her mother had been so worried that she hadn’t even noticed how the crisis had been narrowly averted. Sometimes it was nice that Angella’s concern for her daughter often left gaps in logic in times like this. But in this case Glimmer sincerely wondered if she’d imagined the whole thing and wished her mother had seen whatever that shimmer was too. The teen sat bolt up. There had been a shimmer of light right before the chair moved. With a grunt Glimmer stood up, walking back to the doorway. Her eyes scanned the landing. The shimmer wasn’t there anymore. Because of course it wasn’t. 

	</p><p>  Glimmer resigned herself to lying on her floor, her mind wandering to the events of the day. She’d gone from ruining a potentially perfect day at the library to almost falling down a flight of stairs. This was just a good old-fashioned bad day. 

	</p><p>  When the movers finally finished, during which time Angella had Glimmer leave her room temporarily to set down the remaining furniture, boxes, and bins, the weary mother thanked them and then the minute they’d left, promptly grounded Glimmer. A small protest ensued, but mostly Glimmer was almost expecting the day to continue to decline. They ate dinner with Angella making attempts to find out what happened at the library. All of them failed, leading to the grounding and a disappointed silence. The silence was worse in Glimmer’s opinion because all the unspoken words she’d been berating herself with came flooding out and drowned her already thoroughly beaten subconscious. 

	</p><p>  With her bed and mattress in place, Glimmer could at least get off the floor to sleep and use her sleeping bag as more of a comforter. It was a nice change given the bone deep emotional exhaustion that sent her flopping into her bed.  

	</p><p>  Her eyes fluttered, blurring the room around her as she slipped closer to sleep. It didn’t last long as flashes of her near tumble by the stairs returned to the forefront of her mind. She moaned and slammed her pillow over her face. Maybe she could just stay like this. Her nostrils tickled and she sneezed, the pillow leaving her face. Well, there was no point in trying to fight it. She was drawn to whatever that thing was earlier. 

	</p><p>  Glimmer stood up and touched her feet to the floor as lightly as she could manage. She carefully opened the door. Each move was tentative and full of apprehension. Now she was standing at the landing for reasons unknown to the practical mind. She rubbed her eyes. This was silly. But <em>of course</em>, there wasn’t anything here to look at. She took a step to the edge of the landing and was immediately buffeted back with a soft object. In front of her floated her pillow, held up by nothing but air. Another rubbing of her eyes didn’t clear the floating pillow from her vision. 

	</p><p>  A quick flicker of the glow from the sky outside passed and there in the faint light of the Moon filtered through the sunroof was a girl. To the naked eye she looked normal in this light. She wore a long sleeve red jacket, dark jeans, and what appeared to be military style boots. Her body seemed toned and for all intents and purposes, healthy. Then she moved slightly suddenly the girl was completely transparent. 

	</p><p>  Glimmer could only stare in confusion. Just when she thought the night couldn’t get any weirder, the girl frowned and moved between Glimmer and the staircase. “Stay away from the stairs.” 
	</p><p>  The pink haired girl blinked. Several times. Then it hit her. “That was <em>you.</em>  You pushed me out of the way.”

	</p><p>  “Yeah, I had to.” The girl said in a matter of fact tone. “You were going to fall. I wasn’t about to let you get hurt.” Glimmer continued to stare at this girl. She was here, but she was also not. This was the ghost that everyone must have been talking about. And she wasn’t anything like what Glimmer expected. There was no scary chain rattling or screaming. The girl before Glimmer was just a teenager like herself. 
	</p><p>  <em>And she just saved my life.</em> 

	</p><p>  “Glimmer?” The ghost girl’s eyes went wide, and her body vibrated before it vanished.
 
	</p><p>  “Wait!” But Glimmer’s voice reached nothing but air. She sighed and felt a hand on her shoulder. 

	</p><p>  “Glimmer, what are you doing up so late? Please, stay away from the stairs, okay? I don’t want you falling again.” Angella steered the younger woman back to her room. Over her shoulder she could have sworn she saw the ghost girl watching with relief on her face. Once Glimmer was in her room the girl vanished once more. 

	</p><p> <em>Who are you?</em>  Glimmer’s mind turned the question over and over as she finally caved to the heavy weights on her body and fell asleep.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Thanks for reading! Comments and feedback welcome! </p>
<p>Come find me on My She-Ra Discord chat: https://discord.gg/9t3bkxz</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. It's Hard to Find a Friend</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Glimmer finally gets a chance to talk to the ghost girl. Bow tries to make amends.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Hi All,</p>
<p>I've been on a writing spree lately. So a bunch of chapter updates across most of my fics are incoming over the next couple days. I've already finished the final chapter for "Someday" for those of you who might also follow my SU stories. I'm finalizing the draft before I post it, but it's done. </p>
<p>"Albatross" should also be updated soon too. This chapter just came to me first. </p>
<p>I got the inspiration for the title/was listening to Tom Petty's "It's Hard to Find a Friend" on a mix I made on Spotify while writing this. So listening to it might help set the tone here. But it's not crucial to the plot. </p>
<p>Mild CW for some talks about Glimmer's Dad dying (not graphic) but this chapter does go into a lot about Glimmer and Angella's grieving process. Please let me know if you need me to add any additional warnings at any point. </p>
<p>Thanks for reading and as always feedback and comments are welcome!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> Even though she was grounded, Glimmer still found a silver lining: it gave her time to try to get the ghost of the girl she’d seen to reappear. A feat, to her chagrin, that was proving to be more of a challenge than initially anticipated. It wasn’t like she could call the ghost. What would she even call the ghost? <em>Ms. Ghost? Your Ghostliness? Hey, You, yeah you, the one with the Transparent Body?</em> Or worse yelling <em>Here Ghostie, Ghostie!</em> Like she was calling a dog. That would make sure this Ghost Girl never spoke to Glimmer ever again. Moreover, none of them would leave the teen with a shred of dignity. So, she nixed the idea of screaming for someone, who, for all intents and purposes, didn’t exist. What would her Mom say? The prospect of drawing even more attention from her mother didn’t sound appealing. 

	</p><p>  The only consistent method to draw out the ghost seemed to be going near the stairs. That solution was right out seeing as her mother would probably be on her for doing anything on the stairs outside of using them. Furthermore, she didn’t have a good excuse to go downstairs other than to get food, so she threw out that idea as well. She grumbled and rolled onto her back. Today was already competing to beat yesterday’s record for the worst day in the history of everything. 

	</p><p>  “Glimmer!” She sat up at the sound of her mother’s voice through the door. What had she done this time? She’d only be lying in her room and doing literally nothing but staring into space and thinking about a ghost. The pink haired girl groaned and went to the door, opening it just enough to slip out. Once at the railing she looked downstairs.

	</p><p>  Angella stood in the front hall by the front door, which was open and just outside Glimmer caught a glimpse of a familiar looking curly haired boy. “This boy…what did you say your name was?”

	</p><p>  “I’m Bow,” The boy said, “Um, Ma’am.” The older woman smiled at his manners. “I was just coming to check on Glimmer. She, uh, left the library in a hurry yesterday and we were all worried about her.” 

	</p><p>  His eyes went up and locked with Glimmer’s. She ducked out of view, but it was too late. Both Bow and her mother had seen the girl peeking. “Glimmer, don’t be rude. Come downstairs.” The pink haired girl’s stomach churned. She knew that tone. It was the one her mother used when she was tired of Glimmer’s bad behavior and was past disappointment. She was on thin ice. 

	</p><p>  With her cover blown, the girl made her way downstairs to face the music and the uncomfortable questions Bow was sure to ask her. She had acted incredibly weird yesterday. That fact wasn’t lost on Glimmer. But she also wasn’t quite ready to explain why she’d panicked. Out of the corner of her eye she saw a shimmer and there at the top of the stairs was the ghost girl. She watched Glimmer descend the stairs with a raw intensity and didn’t move until Glimmer reached the bottom. Even then she stayed for a minute to see Glimmer start talking to Bow before vanishing. 

	</p><p>  “I’ll be in the kitchen. Would you like something to eat, Bow?” Angella offered. The boy politely declined before the older woman left the two alone. Glimmer gave her mother a questioning look. Normally being grounded meant she wasn’t allowed to have anyone over. A jerk towards Bow indicated that Angella wanted her daughter to clear up any confusion she’d caused with her abrupt departure yesterday. Then she was gone, leaving the pink haired girl to suffer on her own. <em>Even the Ghost Girl seemed worried about my screwup.</em> Glimmer noted with a sigh. She didn’t know what was worse, her mother’s disappointment, the concern written on Bow’s face, or the fact that the Ghost Girl didn’t seem to trust Glimmer enough to not fall down the stairs. <em>I’ll take d) All of the above.</em>

	</p><p>  “Sorry for dropping by unexpectedly. I wanted to apologize for my Dads. They can be a bit much sometimes. I’m so sorry if we were bad hosts.” Bow said, his eyes growing wide and full of an adorably self- deprecating level of shame. She couldn’t help but smile a little at it. 

	</p><p>  “It’s not your fault or your Dads’ fault.” Glimmer said with a sigh. “I’m not the greatest at…making new friends.” Losing her Dad came with not only the loss of one of her parents, but it meant that her mother had to support them both without him. Having two parents working was hard, but Glimmer got by. Her Aunt Castaspella came by to babysit often and when her grandparents were alive, they also helped. Once Micah had passed, Angella didn’t have the money to keep their home in Bright Moon. It had taken a lot for her to accept that she couldn’t give her daughter everything that had been possible before. 

	</p><p>  They had moved to a small apartment in Bright Moon before deciding to move so Glimmer didn’t have a lot of time to make new friends. Bow was the first person in a while to actively seek Glimmer out. Bow sighed, relief spreading across his face. “I’m so glad. I had this whole apology prepared and my Dads kept trying to give me stuff to say to you in case things went badly…Lance even got out some old historical collections of apology letters. You would not believe how hard it is to get your Dads to stop talking about anything book related when they’re librarians.” He took a deep breath after his long ramble and Glimmer found herself laughing. 

	</p><p>  “I have some idea. My Dad was an author.” She said, ignoring the pang of sadness that threatened to creep into her voice. 

	</p><p>  Bow stared at her for a second. “Was?” Then his eyes widened exponentially, and he slapped a hand over his mouth as the realization hit him. He now had a look of abject horror on his face. “Oh. Oh, God, Glimmer, I didn’t…. I’m so sorry.” 

	</p><p>  This is exactly what the pink haired girl was afraid of. She didn’t want anyone’s pity. Not that she could control how everyone reacted when they found out that her father wasn’t around anymore. But she severely wished that she could avoid the subject altogether. There was no blame to be held against Bow, he was earnestly apologetic about the pain he’d inadvertently caused her. So, she couldn’t let him feel like he was responsible for her feelings being so deeply buried she sometimes forgot they were there until someone accidentally unearthed them.

	</p><p>  “Is that why you left?” Bow asked. “Lance asked you about your parents and…” He watched her face as it scrunched up. She couldn’t cry. She just couldn’t. Not here, not now. Bow stopped. “We were terrible not to think about asking that.”

	</p><p>  Glimmer took a deep breath to clear the tears and welled up emotions that were threatening to explode out of her. “You’re okay, Bow. It’s not like you had any way of knowing.” She sighed. This conversation was not going well. “I…can we change the subject?” She said abruptly before she could think of something better to say. 

	</p><p>  “Sure, if that’s what you need.” Bow said. “But just so you know, if you ever need to talk to anyone, I’d be happy to listen.” Glimmer couldn’t help but smile, though it was worn down from holding herself together as a million painful memories of her father threatened to drown her. 

	</p><p>  “I appreciate it, Bow.” Glimmer said. At that moment, her mother returned, thankfully ending the conversation as the poor boy struggled to salvage the painful mess. 

	</p><p>  “Well, Bow, it was nice to meet you. But Glimmer here is still grounded from yesterday, so why don’t you give her your number so you can catch up when she’s free again.” Angella said. Bow nodded vigorously and quickly wrote down his cell phone number and after passing on the books his Dads had checked out for the girl on the town he left.  

	</p><p>  Angella shut the door and looked over at her daughter. “Why didn’t you tell me about what happened?” The girl’s eyes stung. She couldn’t hold it together any longer. Tears were coming down with or without her permission. 

	</p><p>  “I didn’t want to feel like this.” Glimmer murmured. “I didn’t want you to feel like this. I feel like such a screwup whenever I fall apart, and I hate that.” Despite her own feelings on the loss, Angella’s first instinct was to protect and care for her daughter. 

	</p><p>  “Glimmer, Honey, it’s okay to fall apart sometimes.” Angella said gently. “I know I’m not the best example of it, but we all need to be honest about our feelings sometimes. Or it all gets to be too much.” 

	</p><p>  Glimmer groaned. “But I don’t want to feel like this. I miss Dad. I want him back.” Great, now all the feelings were coming out. It wasn’t fair that she couldn’t just ignore them like she used to. Before when they were moving around, it was easier to just focus on adjusting to a new environment or on her schoolwork. Now she had long hours to sit with the pain she wanted to shove deep into a box and throw it into the Ocean. 

	</p><p>  “I know.” Angella said. She looked out the door. “I just don’t want you to shut yourself off before you have a chance to heal.” A beat followed as she continued, “Bow seemed nice. I would be willing to shorten your grounding if you promise you’ll try to make some new friends.”

	</p><p>  Glimmer looked up at her mother. “Really?” The older woman nodded.

	</p><p>  “I am still disappointed that you didn’t talk to me about what happened. But I also want you to know that you can always talk to me or anyone else about this.” Angella said, running a hand across her daughter’s hair, smoothing the unruly curls. 

	</p><p>  “I…don’t know if I’m ready yet. But I’ll try.” Glimmer said. The older woman nodded understandingly and didn’t press the subject any further. “So, what did he bring all those books over for?”

	</p><p>  The girl blinked and jumped on the chance to change the subject finally, “These are records and articles on Alwyn’s history. I thought I’d learn more about this place since we’re going to be living here.”  An approving smile graced Angella’s lips. 

	</p><p>  “That’s a wonderful idea. Let me know if you find anything interesting.” She started back towards the kitchen. “Who knows, maybe there’s a ghost story or two you can drag out of Bow.” Angella laughed at her own comment, leaving an exasperated and emotionally spent Glimmer behind. 

	</p><p> <em>If you only knew how right you were.</em> Glimmer mused to herself. She then started back up the stairs and disappeared into her room. The minute the door closed, she turned and nearly screamed at the sight of the Ghost Girl standing just inside. 

	</p><p>  “Waaah!” Glimmer’s yelp nearly caused the Ghost Girl to vanish, but she caught herself and held up her hands. “Wait!”

	</p><p>  The Ghost Girl stopped and waited as she was bidden. “Um, thank you. For the other day.” Glimmer said in a low voice, not wanting to alert her mother. For a minute Glimmer wondered if the girl was able to speak at all. After all, the pink haired girl wasn’t sure how all this ghost stuff worked in terms of interactions. 

	</p><p>  “You don’t have to thank me. It’s not a big deal.” The Ghost Girl said. Glimmer desperately wanted to exclaim loudly that it was an incredibly big deal and that this ghost girl was out of her mind if she thought this wasn’t something to be grateful for. 

	</p><p>  “If it wasn’t a big deal, why did you do it?” Glimmer countered, folding her arms across her chest, and cocking her head to the side with a satisfied smirk. The girl’s form flickered at the words and Glimmer was certain that if this ghost could blush, she would have. 

	</p><p>  “Anyone would have done the same.” The Ghost Girl stammered out. Glimmer continued to smirk and give the other girl an unconvinced look. It was hard to say if she even managed to convince herself that it wasn’t anything to be grateful for. “Anyways, I’m sorry for scaring you. It’s just, I usually like to hang out in here. But I can leave if you need me to.” She started to shimmer as if she was going to disappear. At the sight, a slight ache filled Glimmer’s heart.

	</p><p>  The pink haired girl dropped her arms into a more relaxed position at seeing how sheepish and uncomfortable the other girl was. “You don’t have to go.” She paused. “Unless you want to?”
	</p><p>  The Ghost Girl shook her head. “I don’t like being alone.” That sentence only further served to give Glimmer’s heart a sympathetic tug. As much as she was used to being by herself by virtue of how her life had been for the last few years, the pink haired girl didn’t like being alone either. 

	</p><p>  “Then stay.” Glimmer said decidedly. The Ghost Girl stared at the other, uncertain of what to make of this exchange. “But first, names. If we’re going to hang out, I can’t keep calling you ‘Ghost Girl.’ I’m Glimmer. What’s yours?”

	</p><p>  A smile cracked on the blonde-haired ghost’s face. “You’ve been calling me ‘Ghost Girl’?” Now was her turn to smirk and fold her arms across her chest at how flustered Glimmer had become in a matter of seconds. 

	</p><p>  Glimmer’s face turned bright red. “What? I didn’t say <em>thaaat</em>.” She silently cursed her lack of a verbal filter. “I also haven’t been calling you ‘Hey you with the transparent face.’” A loud snorting laugh erupted from the ghost girl. Glimmer started laughing too;  but continued to blush uncontrollably. Despite her resistance to the idea, the reception of the horrible nicknames on the part of the “Ghost Girl”, released the prior embarrassment at the thought. There was an ease to the Ghost Girl. She was a warm person in all but physical form. 

	</p><p>  “Wow, you’re hilarious, Glimmer,” The Ghost Girl said, finally recovering from her bout of laughter. “It’s nice to have someone to talk to who doesn’t run away screaming. I’m Adora.” 

	</p><p>  The compliment didn’t help the blush one bit. But with the laughter that the pink haired girl had managed to draw out of Adora, Glimmer would happily continue to say silly or ridiculous stuff to draw out that sound again. For a moment she didn’t see a ghost standing in the room, but a girl who was just as lonely and just as happy to have a friend as Glimmer was. If only if were only that simple.

	</p><p>  “So how many other people have lived here?” Glimmer asked at the mention of other people screaming at the sight of Adora. The thought, to the pink haired girl, was unthinkable. Not with that smile, that laugh, and how gentle her blue eyes were whenever Glimmer managed to see them in a certain light. The color ebbed and flowed out of the ghost’s body with no real pattern. 

	</p><p>  Adora blew a long sigh. “Whoo. I lost track after the first five years after… well, after my family moved out.” <em> So, her family had lived here a long time ago.</em> Glimmer looked up at the initials again. This was Adora’s room. It had to be. “But no one ever wanted to talk to me. As soon as people realized there was a ghost here, they’d just leave.” 

	</p><p>  Glimmer clutched at her shirt, her palms shaking as she thought about Adora watching as over and over people would just reject her at first sight, without waiting to talk to her. No wonder she kept vanishing after she saved Glimmer. She probably thought that it would be another repeat performance of the last…who knew how many years she’d been here by herself. 

	</p><p>  “Are you okay, Glimmer?” The shorter girl realized she’d been shaking and scowling this whole time and hadn’t been paying attention to the ghost who now was on the forefront of the pink haired girl’s mind. “I didn’t upset you, did I?” 
	</p><p> <em>Good fucking grief, this ghost girl is going to give me heart failure.</em> She’s too kind. Glimmer couldn’t help but call Adora ‘Ghost Girl’ in her mind. At this point it felt almost affectionate instead of descriptive. Which made absolutely no sense. But this whole situation wasn’t logical, and any semblance of normalcy had since been thrown out the window. “No, you’re fine. I’m just… angry on your behalf? Does that make any sense?”
	</p><p>  Adora went quiet she thought about it. “I’ll admit, I’m surprised you’re accepting this at all. I mean, I wouldn’t blame you if you wanted to just forget this happened.”

	</p><p>  Glimmer furrowed her brow. “Why on Earth would I do that?”

	</p><p>  Adora sighed. “Because I’m a ghost, Glimmer. What kind of… anything could you get from being around someone who’s…” The girl stopped abruptly and her form violently fizzled and almost disappeared. 
	</p><p>  “Whoa, what was that?” Glimmer rushed over, instinctively attempting to put her hand on Adora’s shoulder, but it fell through. The ghost didn’t respond, the color once more ebbing away when it had been there a moment before. “Adora?”

	</p><p>  “I-I should go.” Adora stammered and before Glimmer could object the ghost had vanished, leaving the pink haired girl in a confused jumble of questions and concerns about her new friend. Her mind wandered in many directions. With a start, she remembered the books Bow had brought over. It was time to do some digging. 

	</p><p>  She spread out the texts and began to sort through them by the reference type. After an hour of flipping through the indexes, she had her sorted piles. Some of the books were more about the general history of the town and didn’t talk at all about events or anything close to the Reynold’s house. However, now that Glimmer knew Adora’s name. She could finally look for specific information.

	</p><p>  Another hour passed and a soft knock on the door stirred Glimmer from her investigation. “Glimmer, are you hungry…” Angella paused as she looked at her daughter, who barely looked up at the sound of the door opening or her mother’s question. A nostalgic smile passed across the older woman’s face. 

	</p><p>  Images of Micah in his younger years, buried in books, and forgetting to eat when he was in the middle of a story. It was both endearing and incredibly taxing to remind him to sleep and eat sometimes. But in this moment, she saw the passion in her daughter’s eyes as she combed over the books and papers, something that had been absent for both for years. 

	</p><p>  “I’m going to put your food in a Tupperware and leave it out for you, Glimmer. Come down and eat when you’re ready. Don’t wait too long though.” Angella said. The girl looked up.
	</p><p>  “Huh?” Glimmer obliviously said. “Did you say something?” Angella shook her head. Like father, like daughter. The same focus was in the girl’s dark eyes. “Come eat.” 

	</p><p>  Glimmer blinked the exhaustion from her eyes. It had been a few hours since she’d begun her search and still, she was coming up empty handed. A quick glance down at the report in front of her gave her pause though. It was dated about fifteen years ago and upon first look, didn’t seem relevant, but then she saw a familiar name on the page. Not Adora’s, but the last name matched the house: “Missing Person Report: Catra Michalka, daughter of Weaver Reynolds, was reported missing…Please contact…” Glimmer didn’t know who this Catra was. Her eyes drifted to the ceiling and saw that the second set of initials matched “C.M.” 

	</p><p>  “Glimmer, are you coming?” The pink haired girl rubbed her eyes once more. This would have to wait. But she could tell she was close to figuring out who Adora was. Or maybe, if the girl stuck around long enough, Glimmer could be lucky enough to ask her directly. A long sigh escaped her lips. Tomorrow she would try again to connect. It felt strange, but something in Glimmer’s gut told her she needed to help Adora. 

	</p><p>  “Yeah, I’m coming.” Glimmer said. She followed Angella downstairs and now, as if she knew that Adora would be there, watching, the pink haired girl looked up. Sure enough, Adora was there at the top of the stairs, standing and keeping a protective watch like a sentry. 

	</p><p>  Over dinner Angella gave Glimmer her confiscated phone back under the condition she only used it to communicate with her mother and her new potential friend, Bow. No internet surfing or games were permitted, at least not for another week. But that was fine. Glimmer only had one thing she needed to do. As soon as she was in her room again, she took a picture of the article and texted it to Bow with the caption: “Found this article that might be connected to my house. What do you know about ghosts?” 

	</p><p>  The response, a few minutes later was: “Well, hello to you too, Glimmer. =) I see your Mom gave you your phone back. 

	</p><p>  Glimmer rolled her eyes then texted back: “I’m only allowed to text you and my Mom with it. So, what can you tell me about this town’s ghosts?
	</p><p>  Another minute passed then he replied: “Why are you so interested in ghosts?”

	</p><p>  Glimmer paused, wondering how much she should divulge to him. Then decided to throw caution to the wind. Her fingers flew across her keyboard and then texted: “I think I may have accidentally met the one living in my house?

	</p><p>  There wasn’t a wait on this text from him: “WHAAAT???!!”

	</p><p>  Glimmer winced as if he’d just screamed in her ear. She was sure he was yelling and screaming in front of his Dads though. She sighed and texted: “So, is that a yes? You’ll help me?”

	</p><p>  Bow immediately texted back: “Is this another super-secret quest?” 

	</p><p>  Glimmer grinned: “Top secret. You in?”

	</p><p>  Bow’s responses were faster now. She could practically hear him grinning: “Always. But first, is this ghost friendly?” 

	</p><p>  Glimmer paused. It wasn’t an unfair question. But she felt her heart sting because of what Adora had shared about people fearing her. If somehow, by some miracle, Glimmer could get Bow to befriend Adora too, maybe, just maybe, the girl wouldn’t be so lonely. No one deserved to be alone for so long. 

	</p><p>  Glimmer took a deep breath. What could she say? Adora was a ghost, but she drew the pink haired girl in like a magnet. Whether it was to disaster or some bizarre form of bliss, Glimmer couldn’t say. The only thing she knew was that the Ghost Girl known as Adora Reynolds came across as good. There wasn’t a better way to describe her other than the fact that she felt so good. Too good to be dead if all was fair. 

	</p><p>  A rush of air turned Glimmer’s head up and away from the keyboard. She saw that Adora had come back. 

	</p><p>  “I’m… sorry, Glimmer. I’m just… scared.” The girl drew into herself. Glimmer hated that her arms couldn’t reach around the ghost’s shoulders. But she still stood up and made the gesture, even as her arms fell through Adora’s form. Even if it couldn’t be felt, the ghost smiled. 

	</p><p>  “Can I stay in here?” The words barely made it out of her lips, sounding like a wisp of cool air in the wind, a passing chill through the cracks under the window sealant. 

	</p><p>  “Stay.” Glimmer said with a nod. “As long as you need.” Why Adora was scared, Glimmer didn’t know. But she couldn’t stand the way Adora stared back, as if someone <em>wanted</em> her to vanish. The ghost watched as Glimmer stacked up the papers and then shot one final text to Bow before getting into bed: “She saved my life.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Thanks for reading! Let me know what you think!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Waiting on a Feeling</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Hey All,</p>
<p>Thanks for waiting patiently for the update. I've been busy working on this, "Albatross", and "Someday" on top of all my visual art projects so I'm not updating as often as I'd like to be. But this update, Albatross, and Someday are all pretty long this time so hopefully that makes up for the wait. </p>
<p>I also made a playlist on Spotify here: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/28tZVFslRG7K7ZBcGYUro6?si=ZdyaXrmsSJ-KmoOQ-fNOqg for this story. I've been listening to it while writing so I hope it helps get you in the tone/zone of the story. </p>
<p>Thank you to everyone who has left kudos and subscribed. I hope you're all enjoying this story. Please leave a comment if there's something specific you like or if there's something you'd like to see happen. </p>
<p>Mild content warning for swearing in this chapter. Nothing else applies as far as I know. But if you need me to add any content warnings, let me know. </p>
<p>Thanks for reading!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> The final few days of  grounding flew by and before Glimmer knew it, she was back to having her freedom outside of the house. Which was a relief since the girl had read through all the books she’d managed to unpack from the boxes still stacked in her room. She cursed her inability to meticulously plan and label the boxes. Finding the objects she wanted or needed, that weren’t clothes (which her mother took charge in labeling according to season), or essentials, was a chore she didn’t relish. At least now she had her reading lamp and some games she’d found crammed in between some socks she had found under her old bed and threw into the box at the last minute. 

	</p><p>  “Aha!” She exclaimed as she opened the fourth box of the afternoon to retrieve the books she’d been unable to find the day before. In the far corner of the room, Adora hovered, watching this whole process with some level of amusement and poorly concealed judgment at the pink haired girl’s haphazard system of organization. 

	</p><p>  “I don’t know how your mother let you pack things like that.” Adora said with a shake of her head and then folded her arms across her chest. “My foster Mom made me label everything.” Glimmer didn’t look up as she carefully stacking her books one by one in piles by genre, then author, and then how badly she wanted to read them. It was simultaneously baffling and impressive to the blonde that Glimmer could somehow be so picky about her books but have tossed her clothes about the room without batting an eye. 

	</p><p>  “Oh, I wouldn’t let Mom see this.” Glimmer assured Adora with a wave of the hand. “But she also knows she couldn’t make me fold clothes unless the world was about to end. And  even then… I still wouldn’t do it.” 

	</p><p>  Adora sighed. “Noted. If the world is about to end, I won’t ask you to fold clothes.” 

	</p><p>  Glimmer snapped her fingers with a wink at the other girl and grinned. “<em>Now </em>you’re getting it.” Adora hated looking at the mess on the floor but between her inability to touch most objects unless they had been the house for a while and the look Glimmer was giving her, she couldn’t intervene. She wasn’t sure exactly how her supernatural powers worked, just that they only ever worked on inanimate objects and mainly on ones that were in the house. Not that she’d gotten a chance to test it outside the house. The ghost moved so she was hovering closer to Glimmer. 

	</p><p>  Over the past week the two had spent a lot of time talking and had grown more comfortable around one another. It was a little strange at first how easily the two fell into a dynamic together, but neither minded as they both needed it. Adora had even stopped vanishing from Glimmer’s bedroom, with the exception of course that she would disappear if Angella came by. Though Adora still hesitated to cross any boundaries with her roommate of sorts. She insisted on sleeping on the far end of the room since she didn’t need a bed. Glimmer found the whole idea ridiculous and had told the ghost as much. 

	</p><p>  Something about Adora was absolutely fascinating to the pink haired girl. A first pass at figuring out just what made the Ghost Girl so hard to ignore would tell Glimmer it was because the other girl was a ghost. But the longer they spent time together, the warm-blooded human wasn’t sure that was it. Adora was a ghost, but at the same time, that wasn’t all she was. The girl had been a human too once upon a time.
 
	</p><p>  “Oh, and Bow is coming over today. Just thought I would tell you in case you don’t want to hang around when he gets here.” Glimmer said. Adora’s form flickered with what the pink haired girl could assume was nervousness. 

	</p><p>  “I guess?” Adora said slowly. “I don’t want to be rude but…” Glimmer stopped sorting her books and turned around to give the ghost her full attention. 

	</p><p>  “Adora.” The ghost looked at Glimmer, who was fixing Adora with a firm state. “If you aren’t comfortable, just tell me.” The ghost couldn’t hold the stare but still managed to look at Glimmer out of the corner of her eye. She rubbed her arm, her form flickering in and out of color in the light of the room. 

	</p><p>  “I haven’t talked to anyone. In years. Except you.” The Ghost Girl said quietly. Glimmer nodded sympathetically. If she understood anything, it was how awkward talking to people was.

	</p><p>  “I started crying at the library when I first met Bow.” Glimmer said. “And for some reason he still wanted to come back to find me. I don’t know why. But I know how that feels.” 

	</p><p>  Adora tilted her head to the side. “Why wouldn’t he?” 

	</p><p>  The question interrupted Glimmer’s train of thought and any attempts to assure Adora further. “Why wouldn’t he what?” 

	</p><p>  “Want to find you. ” Adora clarified. It was said in such a simple way that Glimmer wasn’t sure she was hearing the ghost correctly. 

	</p><p>  “Because I’m an awkward mess?” The pink haired girl said with a shrug. “For some reason he wasn’t put off by that.”  A light brush of what felt like cool air brushed against Glimmer’s arm. She looked over to see Adora had done the closest thing to touching the other girl in a comforting way. The ghost’s hand was passing through Glimmer’s body completely, but it still tingled each time like air was washed across her skin. 

	</p><p> “Hey.” That word caught Glimmer’s attention. “I’ve been stuck in this place for a long time and haven’t seen much of the world lately, but I can tell that you’re a good person.” In this light Glimmer could see the blue of Adora’s eyes sparkling back. Two raging seas of deep passion and some mysteries beneath beheld the lavender ones struggling to not sink beneath the waves of emotion cascading between the two girls. “I would know.” Glimmer tried to parse the meaning behind that statement but Adora didn’t elaborate. 

	</p><p>  “I’m surprised I didn’t scare you off.” Glimmer said. The ghost laughed so hard her form shook and glowed a little. Or maybe that was a trick of the light. It was hard to say with Adora. 

	</p><p>  “Glimmer, please. I’m a <em>ghost.</em> There’s nothing left for me to be scared of.” The ghost said with a confident smile. But something about how her eyes shifted slightly at the end of her sentence told Glimmer that Adora was lying. Or at the very least, she was hiding something. Just the other night, Adora had admitted to being afraid. So, there was something she’d been afraid of that possibly didn’t matter anymore now that she was dead. It was a sobering thought. 

	</p><p>  Glimmer looked at the Ghost Girl, wondering how much she could push for details or some clue as to why Adora seemed to be contradicting herself when it came to fears. “Everyone’s afraid of something.” 
	</p><p>  Adora lightly touched down to hover in a sitting position just above the bed. “I’m not.” 

	</p><p>  There was a brief moment where the pink haired girl considered calling  on the Ghost Girl but decided against it. From the little that Glimmer knew of Adora, it was obvious the girl was stubborn to the point of absurdity. Throughout the pink haired girl’s life, she’d had her moments of stubbornness and bullheadedness. Her mother had said that she was “hot headed like her father” when she went after something. No force in existence could stop Glimmer Davis from achieving any goal. However, there was a time and place for being a hot head. Even with the fiery spark that she was when she needed it, Glimmer knew when to concede to being wrong. Or at least, she had her mother to put the emergency breaks on before the pink haired teen crashed and burned. 

	</p><p>  It didn’t feel like Adora had anyone like that. Glimmer blow air through her nostrils. “Tell me that without your form shaking and I’ll believe you.”

	</p><p>  Adora blinked as though she’d been slapped. “What?”

	</p><p>  Glimmer sighed. “You keep shaking when you say stuff. I don’t know if it’s because you’re actually afraid or because it’s stuff you don’t want to think about. I just know that it doesn’t seem like you’re unafraid.” 

	</p><p>  The blonde ghost went quiet for a moment. It was notable that she didn’t immediately vanish like she had at first. She was keeping to herself, but at least she wasn’t trying to shut Glimmer out. She would take progress however small it was. 

	</p><p> “I appreciate what you’re doing, Glimmer.” Adora said. Her voice was so soft that it was barely audible. “But you shouldn’t worry about things that don’t matter.” If there was a sound that the heart made when it broke or plummeted into the pink haired girl’s stomach, it would have been loud enough for the whole town to hear. Part of Glimmer wanted to ask if Adora was referring to herself when she said “things” but the other was hurting too much on the Ghost Girl’s behalf to consider it. That couldn’t be what she was saying. The prospect was too horrible to even process. 

	</p><p>  Before either could comment further, Angella’s voice called from downstairs, “Glimmer, Bow’s here!” Glimmer’s eyes went to Adora, asking the question the pink haired girl didn’t have the heart to vocalize after their last exchange. Adora averted her gaze but gave a curt nod. She didn’t move but she didn’t look at Glimmer either. 

	</p><p>  Everything in the living teen’s body wanted to wrap Adora up once again in a tight hug but nothing could be done. No amount of wishing or wanting could change their current situation. “I’ll be right back.” 

	</p><p> Glimmer went down the stairs. Out of the corner of her eyes she saw Adora peering out of the bedroom, still watching, still standing guard in a way, and the pink haired girl bitterly resented that she couldn’t return the favor somehow. She put the thought out of her mind as she reached the front hall where Angella stood talking to Bow. 

	</p><p>  “Glimmer! Hey!” Bow’s energetic voice and warmth was always nice. The pink haired teen hadn’t known him for long, but it felt like they’d been friends for most of their lives with how easily they slipped into conversation over text. 

	</p><p>  “Hey, Bow. Thanks for coming over.” Glimmer said with a smile. The boy’s dark brown eyes searched her and for a second, the smile faded. He plastered it back on for Angella, but he could see the way Glimmer was avoiding looking at her mother. A small shift in her step from side to side and the chewing on her lip when she thought no one was looking. 

	</p><p>  “I’ll leave you two to catch up. Lunch will be in an hour or so.” Angella said. She had an uncanny sense of reading people. Why she didn’t ask Glimmer what was wrong, the younger woman didn’t know. Regardless, she was incredibly grateful that Angella left it alone. The last thing the pink haired girl needed was her mother asking her about her complicated emotions, which, unbeknownst to the older woman, had everything to do with a ghost living in her daughter’s room. 

	</p><p>  The two teens made their way up the stairs. “Are you okay?” Bow asked, keeping his voice low enough to not startle his friend. Glimmer smiled back at him, though it didn’t spread to her mind. 
	</p><p>  “Honestly?” He nodded to encourage her. “I have no idea.” Glimmer sighed, leaning against the railing as they reached the top steps. The boy reached out his hand, hesitated and then completed his light touch to her shoulder. She nodded to his thoughtfulness and they continued up the stairs. As her eyes went up, Glimmer saw Adora’s wide eyes locking on them. They’d stood on the stairs for a while. There was something about the stairs she wasn’t keen on disclosing. But that was an issue for another day. Glimmer opened the door and stepped aside to let Bow in.

	</p><p>  “Adora, this is Bow, Bow…meet Adora.” The pink haired girl kept her voice down as she spoke and closed the door promptly after the boy stepped inside. 

	</p><p>  Bow instinctively put out his hand to shake and then retracted it when he realized his mistake. “It’s nice to meet you, Adora.” The Ghost Girl stared for a minute. The longer she remained silent, the more Glimmer feared she was going to bolt. But the ghost didn’t move.

	</p><p>  “Um…” Glimmer said, rubbing the back of her neck. “So, anyone want to play some games? I managed to find some today while unpacking.”

	</p><p>  “Oh! Yes! I love games.” Bow said, clapping his hands together energetically. “We have game night over at my place. You should join us sometime.” 

	</p><p>  “That sounds fun.” Glimmer said. But the mirth died on her lips as she caught Adora watching them. The ghost must have noticed because she moved over to where the other two were sitting on the floor. When Glimmer opened her mouth to say something, Adora cut her off. 

	</p><p>  “I used to play a lot of games with my family too.” Adora said. The statement earned an attentive focus from both other teens. But mostly from the pink haired girl. This was the most that Adora had willingly shared about herself since they’d met. “But not often.” 

	</p><p>  Bow was quick to field the conversation before it died. “Yeah, my Dads can’t always play because they work late doing research sometimes. But they make the time to play with me and my brothers.”
	</p><p> Glimmer turned to Adora. “Get this, Adora, Bow has thirteen siblings.” Adora’s eyes widened. 

	</p><p> “<em>Thirteen</em>?” The Ghost Girl repeated. “How do your Dads manage that many kids?” Bow chuckled. 

	</p><p>  “Most of them are older than I am. So, they helped raise me and my other brothers.” He explained. “We’ve always taken care of each other.” 

	</p><p>  Glimmer sighed. “You’re so lucky. I wish I had a sibling. At least then I could share the overprotectiveness of my Mom.” Bow shook his head. 	

	</p><p>  “My Dads are protective of all of us in an extreme way. I think that’s just parents.” He then turned to Adora. “Do you have any siblings?”
 
	</p><p>  The Ghost Girl’s form rippled a little as she cast her gaze to the floor. “I did. But I haven’t seen her in years.” Glimmer had to hand it to Bow. He was good at getting information out of Adora without much effort. Maybe he was just a better conversationalist. Having thirteen siblings probably did that to you. He likely didn’t have a lot of private space to himself. But as far as Glimmer could tell, the boy didn’t mind. Far from it, Bow’s whole energy would grow brighter the more he was around others. She wondered if he was like this at school too. 

	</p><p>  Bow exchanged a glance with Glimmer. The same question on her mind was likely on his too. “Do you miss her?” The boy’s approach was gentle and unassuming. Glimmer might have been more direct in her line of questioning. Subtlety was not her forte. 

	</p><p>  Adora leaned back on her hands. “Yeah.” <em>But she forgot about me a long time ago.</em> It was hard to keep track of the years when time meant little to the ghost anymore. At first, Adora tracked the years, wondering if somehow, she’d one day be able to have a semblance of life as it once was. But then she didn’t age. She didn’t change. Her presence had less of an impact than air on a brick wall. 

	</p><p>  It wasn’t until she’d shoved that chair to push Glimmer away from the stairs that she realized she could do something more to the environment than hover around it or make small changes. Even then, each change was a slight of hand. No one noticed when she moved small objects inches across a shelf or something inconsequential. 

	</p><p>  “You can’t leave the house, can you?” Bow said. Glimmer had been thinking the question but didn’t have the ability to pose the question. Adora avoided looking at the pink haired girl. She was relieved as she had a hard time keeping the concern off her face. There were things that Adora obviously didn’t want Glimmer to know. And part of the pink haired girl was uneasy about learning about anything that could indicate how much the ghost had been through while alive.  Meanwhile Bow kept an even keel as he steered their conversation through the choppy waters. 

	</p><p>  “No…not without…” Adora trailed off and didn’t seem to notice that she’d left the words floating in the air. An understanding nod from Bow and Glimmer’s tightening grip on the loose fabric of her jeans ended that topic. The Ghost Girl looked over at Glimmer and smiled reassuringly. The pink haired girl wasn’t convinced but she returned the smile to avail Adora of any worries. 

	</p><p>  A knock on the door caused Adora to vanish in an instant. Glimmer cursed inwardly for not noticing her mother’s approach sooner. “Glimmer?” The door cracked open. “Are you two hungry?”
	</p><p> “Sure, Mom.” The pink haired teen said. Angella raised an eyebrow. 

	</p><p>  “Are you alright, Glimmer?” The teen nodded and received a skeptical frown from her mother. “Well, I’ve got some soup and sandwiches downstairs. Come eat when you’ve cleaned up.” The door closed. The pink haired teen let out a long sigh. She glanced around, waiting. But Adora didn’t reappear. 

	</p><p>  “Do you think I asked her too many questions?” Bow said. For the first time his voice betrayed his nerves. Glimmer shook her head.
 
	</p><p>  “No. Yes? I don’t know, Bow. I feel like I should do something for her. But I have no idea what.” Glimmer grumbled and flopped back on the bed. Bow rubbed his chin thoughtfully. 
	</p><p>  “I mean, we know she’s a ghost and she had a sibling at one point, right?” He said. Glimmer sat up, curious to see where he was going with this. “What if we found someone who was an expert on ghosts? Like my Dads are experts on history and books.”	

	</p><p>  Glimmer stared at him. “There’s no such thing as a ghost expert. Unless you count Ghostbusters and that’s like, the opposite of what we need right now.” 

	</p><p>  Bow shrugged. “Or we could just visit the weird shop in town. The lady who works there… Madame Razz, I think? She knows all sorts of stuff about strange things.” 

	</p><p>  Glimmer raised an eyebrow. He wasn’t serious, was he? When Bow didn’t laugh or yell “Just kidding!” The pink haired girl was forced to accept his ridiculous idea. “Ughhhh. Fiine. But we do not tell Adora about this.”

	</p><p>  Bow nodded sagely. “Oh, I can keep a secret. Can <em>you</em>?”

	</p><p>  Glimmer scoffed and wrinkled her nose in mock offense. “What? Of course, I can.”

	</p><p>  Bow folded his arms across his chest. “You can?”

	</p><p>  “<em>Yes</em>, Bow. I <em>can</em>. What do you take me for?” Glimmer said, shoving him lightly. His smirk continued to smolder. 

	</p><p>  “From <em>Adora</em>?” He said, quirking his eyebrow even further. For someone who had only just met her a week ago, Bow had already read the entire history of Glimmer’s life, complete with annotations on her weaknesses. Where he got those, she wanted to know so she could burn them immediately. 

	</p><p>  “Why would that make any difference?” Glimmer said, starting to put away the games they didn’t end up using. Bow had begun to shrug and then put a hand on her shoulder.
	</p><p>  “Oh, no reason.” He said. The non-chalant response only served to make Glimmer’s annoyance grow. 
 
	</p><p>  “Ugh, you are the worst. Just tell me what you’re trying to get at.” She groaned and threw her hands up in surrender. Bow shook his head. 
	</p><p>  “I think you know.” He said with a quieter tone. “But maybe it’s hard to say because Adora’s…”

	</p><p>  “Dead.” Glimmer filled in. Truth be told, if the Ghost Girl weren’t a ghost, Glimmer would have already started crushing on her, hard. Adora was caring, good company, fun to talk to, and more importantly, she seemed to be immune to Glimmer’s usual ability to repel people with her awkwardness. For some unknown reason. She sighed. 

	</p><p>  “Want to talk about it?” The boy offered. The bed springs squeaked as Glimmer hopped up.

	</p><p>  “Nope.” She strode to the door, put her hand on the knob, and then let loose a long breath of air she hadn’t realized she’d been holding. “I can’t, Bow.” He nodded silently and followed his friend out. If Adora was around, she didn’t show herself when they walked down the stairs this time. Out of a newly developed habit, Glimmer looked up at the landing. There was a shimmer of light near the door of the bedroom. A relaxed smile eased through her body. Was she relieved? Why did she care so much if Adora was watching? 

	</p><p>  “Hey, Bow.” Glimmer said, not taking her eyes off the ghost as she appeared fully in front of the bedroom. “Let’s go see Madame Razz tomorrow.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Reflections of the Heart</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Glimmer and Bow find a weird shop in the woods. Maybe they'll learn more about ghosts? Or maybe they'll just get a lot of pie. </p>
<p>(Both, both is good).</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Hi All!</p>
<p>Thank you for your continued patience with this story's slower pacing (I promise it'll all pay off in the end). There will probably be at least one or two more updates before I return to my college classes on the 14th and then I'll be going on a temporary low-update/hiatus schedule through to the end of the quarter in November.</p>
<p>Next up on the posting/update schedule is "Burning Ground." My hope is to get at least to chapter three with that before I return to classes, but we'll see how that goes. I'm also working on artwork for this story as well so that factors into the small delays between chapters. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Again, if you're looking for some amazing series to read, check these out:</p>
<p>Count Dorku's <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/series/1597225">"Starways"</a></p>
<p>Athetos's <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24865447/chapters/60156490">"I Thought I Wanted This"</a></p>
<p>Say_Anything and LunariumParakeet (EtherianFrigateBird)'s <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23173117/chapters/55465756">"No Strings Attached"</a></p>
<p>GGunSailor's <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/16972071/chapters/39889488">"Glitter and Swords: Adora/Glimmer Drabbles"</a></p>
<p>CuriousScientistKae's series: <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/series/1827520">"Chipped Adora"</a></p>
<p>Say_Anything's <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24747562/chapters/59831002">"She Ra Heart of Courage"</a> </p>
<p>Say_Anything and EtherianFrigateBird's <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/22977853/chapters/54931186">"Adora: Vagabond of the Etherian Cosmos"</a></p>
<p>eritas's <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23447845/chapters/56204974">"Across the Stars"</a></p>
<p>If you're looking for other supernatural fics I recommend <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/21679486/chapters/51703858"> "The Girl in Red"</a></p>
<p>Thank you all for reading! I appreciate all the comments, kudos, and feedback. It's incredibly helpful to know what you all like and what needs more work. So please drop a line if you have the time!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> Growing up with a writer for a father meant that Glimmer was open to adventures and oddities. However,  Alwyn’s strangeness was pushing the natural amount of tolerance that she had for anything unexpected. Most of the town was surrounded by woods but there was still a main road and it hosted most of Alwyn’s main attractions: the school, restaurants, a few small shops, and a couple of bus stops along the way. The town’s bus ran on a schedule that no one could possibly predict, and the driver was a woman by the name of Hope Lightfoot, whose robotic demeanor struck Glimmer as everything but hopeful. She didn’t smile much and went about her job without much commentary. Even the way she spoke was monotonous and flat. Maybe the pink haired girl was too snarky and sarcastic in contrast for there to be a fair comparison, but she thought the lack of emotion, for, well, anyone, was strange. Adora, who was dead, had more emotion than the living bus driver. That was the oddest part of the whole experience in Glimmer’s eyes. 

	</p><p> Angella had given both Bow and Glimmer money for the bus and a little extra to eat in town, and then the older woman headed out for work. The two teenagers managed to catch the bus after standing awkwardly at the heavily  bruised bus stop. It hosted a signpost that had moss twisted around its metal base and the sign itself almost dangled from the loosened screws like someone had taken to boxing it to death. <em>Alwyn must have some brutal weather</em>, Glimmer thought to herself. 

	</p><p>  “So, where is this place again?” Glimmer asked, turning to face Bow as they settled into one of the questionably splotched cushioned seats of the bus. 

	</p><p>  “Just outside of town. We’ll have to walk a bit after the last stop on the route.” Bow said, pulling up a map on his phone and showing it to Glimmer. 

	</p><p>  “ I don’t see it.” She said, squinting. Bow rubbed the back of his neck and shrugged a little.

	</p><p>  “Well, it’s kind of not on the map. It’s in a weird spot.” He chuckled. Glimmer’s lavender eyes widened and then narrowed as she stared at her friend. '

	</p><p>  “Are you <em>sure</em> this place is even safe?” The pink haired girl folded her arms across her chest. While Bow had grown up in Alwyn, Glimmer had no idea what normal was here. If normal even existed. She was starting to think it didn’t exist here.  

	</p><p> The bus huffed to a stop and they were both thrown forward a bit. Bow caught her before her head could collide with the seat in front of them. “Ready?” He asked. Glimmer wasn’t entirely sure about any of this, but it wasn’t about her. This was about Adora. 

	</p><p>  “Let’s go.” She said with more confidence than she genuinely felt at that moment. The two stepped off the bus, Bow giving the stoic driver a wave that she didn’t respond to. As the bus pulled away, Glimmer took stock of their surroundings. Like Bow had said, they were at the edge of town and everything past the bus stop comprised of woods. As the two got further away from the town, the more she noticed that woodland creatures started to come out into the open and had their run of the area. 

	</p><p>  “How do you even know about this place?” Glimmer asked as Bow led them up a hill and through a winding path of trees. The boy continued to look down at his phone while he responded. 

	</p><p>  “I stumbled on it by accident. You can only spend so many hours in town before you’ve seen everything too many times.” Glimmer had to agree with that. She hadn’t grown up in Alwyn and already she felt like she’d seen everything. Maybe the strangeness of the town was a tradeoff for how tiny and drab the daily life was. 

	</p><p> Their trek took them through another lightly paved path through the woods. It was only visible because it seemed like whoever walked through it had put up some small signs and cleared some of the brambles away so they wouldn’t harm visitors. There, in the center of a small clearing was a shop that made the Reynolds’ House look like a fancy mansion. It was a two-story building with mismatched wood making up the exterior and the roofing. The entire outside was covered in moss, brambles, and it seemed as though the owner didn’t care if the shop became one with the woods it lived in. 

	</p><p> On the outside was a sign that said: “Razzle Dazzle Delights and Innovations”.  Which is to say, Glimmer had no idea whatsoever and she was sure that Razz didn’t either. In the windows were some books, bottles and surprisingly the smell from inside was sweet. As they approached, a warm voice greeted them. 

	</p><p>  “Welcome, Dearies!” Glimmer stared at the older woman dressed in a pink dress, thick bottle cap sized glasses, and reminded the pink haired girl vaguely of one of the mysterious advisor types that she’d read about in stories. Only she wasn’t sure what Razz could advise on. The hope at least was that they could get information on ghosts. But the shop didn’t seem to have anything that promised knowledge on anything specific. The front counter was covered in trays of pies, contrasting with the bottles of remedies in the window, and then the rest of the shop was full of an assortment of books. One half looked like a tornado had whipped everything around and the other was slightly more organized and packed to the brim with higher end technology. Computers, screens, wires, cables, and tools covered the tables on the technology side. 

	</p><p>  “You are looking for something specific today, yes?” Razz said, smiling warmly. Glimmer and Bow exchanged looks, the latter shrugging. The question was direct, but then again, if they’d found their way out here, the likelihood that they were in fact looking for something specific was practical enough, despite the weirdness of the overall situation. 
	</p><p>  “Um, yeah, we have some questions about…ghosts.” Bow said, rubbing the back of his neck. Razz waved her hand dismissively. 

	</p><p>  “Yes, yes, ghosts. Madame Razz knows. Now come, we will have pie.” Once again Glimmer and Bow stared at each other, not quite sure how to take the forceful nature of being told they were going to be eating pie. 

	</p><p>  “Are you sure about this?” Glimmer whispered. Bow glanced around. 

	</p><p>  “I mean, it’s <em>pie</em>. What’s the worst that can happen?” He said. Glimmer rolled her eyes. A handful of answers to that question immediately popped into her head. Though whether they were worth mentioning at this point was a whole other question entirely. 

	</p><p> “She’s weird, Bow.” The pink haired girl pointed out. He nodded in agreement but true to his nature, he pointed out an important detail that Glimmer didn’t consider.
	</p><p>  “True, but we’re the ones who came in asking for help with a ghost.” Bow jerked his head to where Razz was rummaging behind the counter. 

	</p><p>  “Ah! Found you!” She exclaimed and made her way back to the front with a knife for cutting the pie. She sliced a few pieces and held them out to the two teens. “Silly knife is always hiding from me.” They shrugged and took the plates of pie wordlessly. A loud clanging noise jolted them into nearly dropping their food. 

	</p><p>  “Oh! Are we having pie now?” The two turned to see a person with incredibly long purple hair, a loose pair of coveralls to match her messy hair, thick gloves and a protective metal working mask emerge from behind all the technological equipment. 

	</p><p>  “I cut you a piece, Entrapta, Dear,” Razz said with a smile, holding out a slice of pie for the newcomer. They all sat down on the floor since the shop was oddly lacking any tables despite the feeling that Glimmer was getting that having pie was a normal occurrence here. 

	</p><p>  “Ohhh and you got blackberry this time!” Entrapta boomed, clapping her hands together in delight. Glimmer also noted that Entrapta’s portions were all cut into tiny slices fit for a small child. Everything about this shop was endearingly curious, including its two workers. Unless another one was hidden somewhere in the back. All things considered; the pink haired girl hadn’t ruled out that possibility out quite yet. 

	</p><p>  “So… Madame Razz, do you have anything that can help us with a ghost?” Bow continued casually. Glimmer severely envied his ability to navigate a conversation. Especially one that should have been difficult to broach. But he simply took the plunge and smiled through it all. Bow was truly incredible. 

	</p><p>  “Did you say ghost?” Entrapta repeated. His brown eyes went to the strange woman. 

	</p><p>  “Yes?” Bow replied, unsure of where this conversation was going, but was determined to keep his misgivings to himself. 

	</p><p>  “Ahhh!!” Entrapta screamed, causing all but Razz to wince at the high-pitched sound. “Ghosts are <em>fascinating</em>!” Entrapta jumped up and ran to the back of the shop, quickly returning with a pad of paper and a pen. “Tell me <em>everything</em>.” 

	</p><p> Madame Razz hadn’t said much throughout this but was now looking at Glimmer intently, but still smiling as she nodded in encouragement. “Go ahead, Dearie. You won’t know anything if you don’t ask.”

	</p><p>  “Well, that’s just it. I only know <em>who</em> the ghost is. Not what happened to her. I was hoping I could help her somehow.” Glimmer said quietly. She looked down at her now forgotten pie. Bow reached over to give his friend a comforting squeeze of the shoulder before he looked over at Madame Razz.

	</p><p> Entrapta was already taking notes. “What kind of ghost is it?” Glimmer bristled at the use of the word “it”. 

	</p><p>  “<em>She</em> is a teenager. Who <em>died</em>, but she’s still a person. I don’t know how because she hasn’t told me.” The pink haired teen folded her arms across her chest and glared at Entrapta. The inventor seemed completely unconcerned about the anger directed at her. 

	</p><p>  “Hmm.” Entrapta hummed thoughtfully. “Where is the ghost? Is she able to move around?” Glimmer was relieved that the inventor woman was now using “she” instead “it”. No matter how far removed from life Adora was, she was still a person and deserved to be treated as such. 

	</p><p> Glimmer nodded to the second question. “She lives in my house and yeah, she moves around in the house. But she doesn’t leave it.” The teen paused. “Does that matter?”

	</p><p> Entrapta nodded, taking notes as she talked. “Oh, absolutely! Depending on the type of ghost you have, they may or may not be able to leave the place they died. Especially if the ghost has unfinished business or vendetta against someone. Ooo, does your ghost have any plans for vengeance?” 

	</p><p> Glimmer flushed a little. “She’s not <em>my</em> ghost.” The teen squirmed a little under the attention of the two adults in the room. “And no, she’s just a normal girl as far as I know.”
	</p><p> Entrapta deflated at the news that this ghost had no violent unfinished business to attend to. “That’s too bad. I could use some data on vengeful ghosts.” The inventor made more notes before looking back up at Glimmer. “She does live in your house though, right?”

	</p><p> Glimmer nodded. “Yeah? And?”

	</p><p>  “That makes her <em>your</em> ghost.” Entrapta said with a delighted clap of her hands. “Do you think I could study her?”

	</p><p>  “Uh, I think Adora would have an issue with that.” Bow put in, noting the way that Glimmer was grinding her teeth to keep from launching herself at the inventor. Entrapta raised an eyebrow and Razz’s eyes went wide. 

	</p><p>  “Adora?” The shopkeeper repeated. “You said Adora, Dearie?” 

	</p><p> Glimmer leaned forward, forgetting her anger for a moment. “Yeah, he did. Do you know her?”

	</p><p>  “Brave girl, brave girl.” Razz said with a shake of her head. 

	</p><p>  “Please, if you know how I can help her, I need to know how.” Glimmer said, leaning forward, her lavender eyes fixed on the shopkeeper. The two bottlecap glasses reflected the girl’s pained expression back at her. It was like she was looking in a mirror and it made her severely uncomfortable as the seconds ticked by. 

	</p><p>  “Help who?” Razz repeated. Glimmer’s expression strained further. Bow laid a hand on her shoulder, shaking his head. 

	</p><p>  “Perhaps I can be of some assistance.” Entrapta said. “Madame Razz’s memory isn’t the best, but I am an excellent data keeper.” She pushed herself up by her hair and went into the back once more. “Aha!” She tapped the pad to bring up a video, then hesitated. “Actually, maybe it’s better if I put this on flash drive for you two.” Her eyes went to the older woman. “Last time I tried playing this video…” The inventor looked ashamed for a second. “No use looking back! Science moves forward!” 

	</p><p> Glimmer wasn’t sure that was the appropriate attitude given that their current situation had to do with a ghost. If anything, ghosts had everything to do with the past and wanted nothing to do with the present. The thought was sobering when it came to Adora, who didn’t want to have much to do with either one. 

	</p><p>  “So, Madame Razz knew Adora?” Glimmer asked. The inventor shrugged.

	</p><p>  “I think so. I can only draw that conclusion based on what I know.  I have that one recording from when I first started working here. I was positively shocked to learn Madame Razz never kept logs or kind of recording of everything here. Progress depends on our ability to continue to seek answers.” The Inventor paused to look at the teens. “You will bring back anything you find, right?”

	</p><p> Glimmer took the small drive in her hand and stuffed it into her pocket. It felt strange to try to pry into Adora’s past when the girl didn’t seem keen on revealing anything. But at the same time, if what Entrapta was saying was true, it meant that something happened to Adora that was holding her back. 

	</p><p>  “We’ll bring back anything we find.” Bow affirmed with a nod. <em>Within reason of course</em>, he added as an afterthought. 

	</p><p>  “That reminds me, you might want to read this.” Entrapta held out a thick book titled <em>Ghost Classifications: A Manual</em>. It looked like the textbooks from school that Glimmer could read and fall asleep to and use as a weapon in combat due to the weight. The prospect of reading it sounded like torture. 

	</p><p>  “Thanks, Entrapta.” Bow said with a smile, taking the book and sliding it into his bag. “We’ll bring this back to you.”

	</p><p>  “Oh, no need.” Entrapta said with a wave of her hand. “I have plenty of copies.” It was then that both teens noticed the author’s name on the cover: Dr. Entrapta Woodson. Considering how specific the content was, Glimmer wondered if Entrapta had sold any copies of the book at all. 

	</p><p> They left the shop and made their way back through the woods, this time faster because they were retracing the path from before. As soon as they were out of earshot, Bow turned his attention to Glimmer. The girl was clenching the flash drive in a death grip in one pocket and the other hand was twisting the string from her hoodie around her fingers until they turned white and then unraveling it before repeating the process. 

	</p><p>  “You okay?” Bow asked. His voice broke the girl’s thought cycle long enough for her to look over. 

	</p><p>  “I don’t know if that was helpful. I mean, we got this video, which is great, but I don’t know if it’s going to help Adora.” The pink haired girl sighed. Bow shrugged. 

	</p><p>  “I mean, we don’t know until we try, right?” He offered a smile. “And maybe Adora will open up soon. You never know.” 

	</p><p> Glimmer groaned and threw her arms up in exasperation. “Or maybe she’ll be stuck in that house forever. Alone.”

	</p><p> Bow elbowed the pink haired girl and shot her a smirk. “Not completely alone. She has you. After all, she’s <em>your</em> ghost girl.” The other teen’s face once again flushed at the emphasis that Entrapta had used back in the shop. It shouldn’t have caused as much consternation or embarrassment as it had, but the more that Glimmer thought about the words, the more it heated her face and increased her desire to shrivel up inside her hoodie. 

	</p><p>  “Ugh. Not you too, Bow.” She grumbled. The boy laughed and finally relented when they finally reached the bus stop. He moved his book bag from one shoulder to the other and regarded Glimmer’s continued silence with a raised brow. 

	</p><p>  “Why does it bother you so much?” Bow asked. Glimmer muttered something under her breath, causing him to shake his head in disapproval at her language. “Glimmer.”

	</p><p>  “Because.”

	</p><p>  “Because why?” 

	</p><p> She glared at him out of her peripheral vision. If she looked at him directly, she’d have to see that he was being earnest, that he meant well, and that he was right that there was a reason she was incredibly embarrassed but couldn’t admit to. Not if her stubbornness had its way and it usually did. 

	</p><p>  “Forget it.” Glimmer gritted through her teeth. Bow sighed but proceeded to drop the topic. She felt badly that she’d gotten so irritable, but at the same time she couldn’t bring herself to consider the implications of Entrapta’s words. “Sorry. I just can’t…” The other teen seemed to understand as he put a comforting hand on her shoulder. She offered a tired, yet grateful smile. 

	</p><p> That night was restless. Glimmer flipped from side to side, kicking her sheets half off the bed and finally resolving to stare up at the ceiling. Her eyes slid shut to the hum of the fan above her head as it buzzed out a semi-tranquil ambient rhythm. 

</p>
<p></p><blockquote>
  <p> The pitter patter of feet caused Micah to lower his book and peer over the frames of his glasses at the small tuft of pink hair that had appeared at the foot of the bed. When he peered over, it vanished off to the side with a small giggle. A smile crept across his face.

	</p>
  <p>  “If there was a monster at the foot of the bed, I don’t think it would be giggling.” He said. “That wouldn’t be very monster like.”

	</p>
  <p>  “Imma good monster, Daddy!” The pink tuft reappeared and there was a wump as the small child landed on the bed. “Good monsters giggle.”

	</p>
  <p> Micah smiled at the words. He set the book aside before holding out his arm. The small girl crawled over and snuggled into the nook of her father’s arms. 

	</p>
  <p>  “Tell me a story?” She said, peering up and playing with some of the strands of her father’s dark beard. 

	</p>
  <p>  “Hm.” He pretended to scratch his head. “I’m not sure I know any stories.” 

	</p>
  <p>  “Daddy!” Glimmer pushed out her lip in a pout and folded her arms across her tiny chest. “Not funny.” 

	</p>
  <p> He chuckled. “I thought it was funny. But if you want me to be serious. I will be serious… Little Monster.” He grinned and tickled her. Then he leaned back and thought for a moment. 

	</p>
  <p>  “Ah, I know. Since we’re talking about monsters, here’s one for you. Once there was a monster who lived all alone. No one had ever visited him or spoken to him. Everyone said he was terrifying, had horrible teeth, and roared so loud that the sound broke windows.” 

	</p>
  <p> Glimmer’s eyes widened and she propped herself up on her hands and elbows as she listened. Micah continued, “But, no one had ever seen the monster. No one even knew his name. They just ran away whenever he opened the door or repeated the story everyone told about the one person who had seen him. The one story that he was terrible and ate kids for lunch.” Glimmer’s mouth dropped open.

	</p>
  <p>  “No! Bad monster!” 

	</p>
  <p>  “Yes, that’s a very bad monster.” Micah nodded in agreement. “But one day, a villager began to ask the other townspeople if they’d actually seen what the monster looked like. After all, if this monster was truly a legendary beast of terrifying proportions, then shouldn’t there be portraits or some record of what he looked like?” The father paused to look over at the doorway where he noticed Angella was standing, watching with some amusement as the story ended. “No one knew what the monster looked like. The villager asked everyone, looked for anything in the library, and then finally decided to visit the monster in person.

	</p>
  <p>  “They knocked on the door and it opened to reveal...” Micah paused for dramatic effect, causing Glimmer to groan.

	</p>
  <p>  “Reveal what, Daddy?” She moaned. “Tell me!” He chuckled and continued. 

</p>
  <p>  “The door opened to reveal that the man everyone said was a monster was just a normal person. The visiting villager exchanged greetings and then asked if they could sketch this ‘monster’ that everyone was so afraid of.” Micah paused as Glimmer was no longer commenting. The small child had sunk into the comforter and was sleeping soundly, arms wrapped around one of the pillows. 

	</p>
  <p>  “Sleep well, Little Monster.” Micah said and lifted the small girl up to carry her to her room. Angella was already in bed by the time he returned. 

	</p>
  <p>  “I’m always amazed that you manage to come up with a new story every time she asks.” She said with a shake of her head. Micah chuckled.

	</p>
  <p>  “I’m lucky she’s so easily entertained. And not easily frightened. I know plenty of children who would fear a monster story like that.” The father said with proud smile. 

</p>
</blockquote><p>  “Glimmer? Glimmer?” Two lavender eyes flickered open to see a glowing pair of eyes looking down over her. The pink haired girl sat up and stared over at the ghost, who had been hovering incredibly close to the bed at that moment.

	</p><p>  “Adora? What are you doing over here?” Glimmer asked. The ghost floated back a bit to give the other girl some space. 

	</p><p>  “You…you were crying. In your sleep.” Adora said quietly. “I couldn’t get you to wake up. I’m sorry. I should have given you your space.” 

	</p><p> Glimmer blinked and touched her face. Sure enough, it was slick with moisture and her pillow looked like it was wet too. She sighed and sat up, bringing her knees to her chest. 

	</p><p>  “It’s okay, Adora.” Glimmer said with a faint smile. <em>I’m sorry you had to see that. Why did I have to cry in front of her?</em> The ghost didn’t return the gesture. She continued to watch Glimmer with an unreadable expression. “I’m okay, really.” 

	</p><p>  “This isn’t the first time you’ve done that.” Adora stated. There was a hopelessness in the ghost’s tone that caught Glimmer by surprise. The way the other girl curled into herself as she floated above the bed reminded Glimmer of how she was before moving here. There weren’t many places the pink haired girl wanted to go or things she wanted to do in the months following Micah’s death. 

	</p><p> Part of her resented her own inability to keep that pain to herself. This was the last thing Adora needed. “Don’t worry about it.” Glimmer said with a shaky laugh. “I’m sorry that you had to see that.”

	</p><p><em>Why did I say that out loud?</em>

	</p><p> “Why are <em>you</em> sorry?” Adora asked, confusion replacing the pained and sullen expression from before. The other girl wasn’t sure if the change was an improvement or not. It still left Glimmer feeling like she was burdening the ghost with unnecessary problems. 

	</p><p>  “You have to deal with me like <em>that</em>.” Glimmer muttered, drawing her knees closer. 

	&lt;</p><p>  “Like what?” The firm, yet sweetly rich tone brought the pink haired girl’s eyes back up. Something in Adora’s tone dared Glimmer to think that the ghost knew what was running through the other’s head. That somehow, Adora not only understood what Glimmer was feeling but that the former didn’t think poorly of the pink haired girl for it. 

	</p><p>  “A mess.” The living girl breathed out heavily. She clenched her teeth and swallowed the tears that were trying to erupt from her eyes and the sobs creeping into her throat. 

	</p><p>  “It’s okay to be a mess.” Glimmer lifted her eyes to meet the warm face of the ghost girl. She held out a hand to hover over the pink haired girl’s cheek. Even without the feeling of the touch, it still felt nice deep down. “You’re still you.”

	</p><p> Everything in Glimmer’s heart wanted to reach out to the ghost. To feel that hand that was so close, mere inches away, yet it couldn’t feel further away or colder. “Do you want to talk about it?” The pink haired girl blinked. “Whatever is hurting you?” The way the moonlight hit the ghost it made her look like angelic goddess, glowing blonde locks freed amid a mighty power. If Adora could, Glimmer knew that the ghost would take everyone’s pain away, except her own. That’s what a hero did. They barely knew each other, but to Glimmer, Adora was nothing short of brave.
 
	</p><p><em>She’s your ghost.</em> 

	</p><p>  “You don’t need that.” Glimmer murmured, rubbing her eyes with the back of her hand. The covers shifted, catching the girl by surprise. 

	</p><p>  “No, but <em>you</em> do.” Adora said gently. “Whatever’s on your mind. I promise it won’t scare me away.” The look the ghost was offering was so open, welcoming, and full of care that it nearly broke Glimmer’s heart to look at it. 

	</p><p>  “I…thank you, Adora.” The pink haired girl said. “Maybe not tonight. But I appreciate it.” The ghost merely smiled and nodded. She started to float away. “Wait… can you do something for me?”

	</p><p> There was a flicker of light and the ghost reappeared next to the bed. “Anything.” 

	</p><p>  “Tell me about your life. Any story.” Adora tilted her head in surprise but nodded as she settled into the closest thing to a sitting position she could manage while floating. Glimmer settled back into the blankets. As Adora’s soft voice washed over the other girl, she felt all the heaviness of the dream from before lifting and her tears started to dry out. 

	</p><p>  The ghost hovered close to the bed and Glimmer noticed that the covers had once again shifted slightly. She wasn’t sure if Adora noticed, but a tiny spark flickered for a second in the pink haired girl’s heart. It wasn’t certain, but maybe, somehow…the ghost would slowly open the door to her heart and let Glimmer in. “Alright. Let’s see, I used to have this imaginary horse named Swift Wind…”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Let me know what you think! Feedback is appreciated!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. I'm Not Scared of the Dark</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Glimmer's desire to learn more about ghosts in an attempt to help Adora causes tension between them.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Hey All! </p>
<p>I apologize for the long wait between updates. I had a lot going on towards the end of last year in my college classes as well as the other fics  I'm working on. </p>
<p>The good news is that I have completed this story and I am editing the final chapters tonight (they should all be up soon). I still plan to add some artwork but that may not happen until my next break in the Summer (I haven't forgotten though). </p>
<p>I hope if you've stayed with this story this long you have enjoyed reading it as much as I've enjoyed writing it. This was a passion project of mine and I wrote a bunch of endings before I arrived at the final version. The ghost story Catra tells is actually one based off of the buildings at my college. </p>
<p>The next few chapters will be emotionally intense and I'll be adding content warnings as needed. I don't think any apply for this chapter. If you need me to add any, please don't hesitate to let me know. </p>
<p>As always, comments and feedback are appreciated if you have the time! </p>
<p>Thanks for reading!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> Glimmer was never the studious type. Sure, she enjoyed learning, but that curiosity was never sated by drab textbooks or lectures. She didn’t have the patience for it. If anyone bothered to ask, she preferred hands on learning. Which was proving to be a problem when the subject she was attempting to learn more about couldn’t know that Glimmer was researching her. Or that the pink haired girl had brought home a giant book on ghosts that weighed more than any textbook she’d ever had for school.
 	
	</p><p>  Despite the odd subject, Entrapta’s writing was, engaging to say the least. Even if the words she used required the teen to constantly check her phone to confirm that yes, that was in fact a word. It was informative and Glimmer had learned more about ghosts than she’d ever imagined she’d want to know. 

	</p><p>  But it still didn’t provide Glimmer with any clear ideas of how she could help Adora. The ghost had made Glimmer feel more at home in the house than anything else. It certainly helped that the blonde knew more about the house than anyone else. When it came to discussing the outside world however, Adora would grow quiet. She didn’t talk about her life before her death. 

	</p><p>  That was how Glimmer found herself chewing on the end of her pen, much to Bow’s chagrin as he kept insisting it would explode in her mouth if she chomped on it too hard. However, the pink haired girl continued flipping through every chapter in Dr. Woodson’s massive book in search of information on ghosts who were attached to a place. Or how to handle talking about deaths. One of those subjects was in the book, the other, perhaps hidden between the lines or in some unwritten source. Glimmer found herself staring every few minutes at the drawer where she’d stuffed the flash drive from Razz’s shop. At first, she’d thought about keeping it at her house but then decided it was better if Bow kept it until they were ready to discuss everything they’d found with Adora. Not that the ghost would pry into other people’s belongings. She was too polite for that and respected Glimmer’s privacy as much as the ghost could. 

	</p><p>  “Glimmer?” The girl blinked as she found herself staring at Bow’s waving hand. “You okay?” She sighed and set down the book. Despite what she liked to think she hadn’t inherited her father’s ability to tackle reading an entire stack of books in a matter of hours. 

	</p>
<p></p><blockquote>
  <p>  Micah would sit with his choice of drink and either write until the late hours of the evening or read. Glimmer would lie on the floor, awed by the disappearing stack as he completed his task. 

	</p>
  <p>  “How do you do that?” Glimmer asked. Micah grinned. 

	</p>
  <p>  “I’ll tell you a secret.” He set down his book and looked at her over the rim of his reading glasses. Glimmer scooted closer, eager to be in on this secret. “You have to promise not to tell anyone this trick.” 

	</p>
  <p>  The girl nodded vigorously. “I promise, Dad. Tell me!” He chuckled. 

	</p>
  <p>  “The secret is… love.” The man grinned and Glimmer wrinkled her nose. The answer clearly did not appeal to the ten-year-old. 

	</p>
  <p>  “Love doesn’t help you read, Dad. That’s just wrong.” Glimmer muttered, glaring at him, betrayed by his answer. 

	</p>
  <p>  “Oh, is it?” Micah appeared unaffected by his daughter’s rejection. He glanced around and then laid eyes on the notebook she kept sitting by her chair in the living room. “Do you write in your notebook because you hate it?”

	</p>
  <p>  “I do it because I want to.” Glimmer stated flatly. Micah nodded, rubbing his chin. No matter how long she tried to figure out what was going on in his head, she never could. She could always tell when her father was about to share some wisdom that he felt she needed to hear. Or when she needed a pep talk. But she could never tell what kind of anecdote he was going to use. 

	</p>
  <p>  “I feel the same way about reading. I enjoy it. It’s an act of love to dedicate yourself to something.” Micah said. “Otherwise, how could you stick with it?” 

	</p>
  <p>  Glimmer continued to scowl, uncomprehending. “I don’t get it.” It wasn’t that she didn’t understand the concept, she understood what he was saying. What she didn’t understand was how love could move someone to sit for hours and read anything, even if it were unbearably boring. 

	</p>
  <p>  “I suppose you need to find something that you love enough that it makes the night feel like it never ends. Like you’ll always be here on Earth.” He turned to see Glimmer’s eyes were rolling, glazed over in an almost comical way.

	</p>
  <p>  “Daaaad, you’re doing that thing again.” Glimmer buried herself in the floor, hoping it would swallow her whole to save her from this lecture. 

	</p>
  <p>  “Alright, Alright. I’ll stop. But I promise you, one day, you’ll find what I’m talking about. Whether it’s something you do or being with someone you love.” He smiled at the doorway where Angella was standing. 

	</p>
  <p>  “Ughhh, stoop.” Glimmer groaned. The three sat down to dinner and Glimmer passed her father’s words off as just another one of his convoluted lessons or wisdom she was sure was nonsense. 

</p>
</blockquote><p>  She never did grasp her father’s dedication. But she still felt like she needed to read for Adora. Maybe, just maybe, the answers on how the girl came to be where she was would reveal themselves. 

</p><p>  This afternoon Bow had invited Glimmer to spend the day at his house and his fathers were all too eager to break out every conceivable snack. Some, Bow insisted, were ones even he was sure they had been stowing away for special occasions. Glimmer wasn’t sure she could eat them all, but she accepted the offers and the Tupperware to take home for later. She flipped the page of Entrapta’s book to a chapter titled “Ghosts: Tethers and Bindings.” At first glance the words didn’t seem completely relevant but as she flicked her eyes down the page, she stopped at one of the sentences: <em>Ghosts can be connected, see Chapter 4-“Tethered” by to a person, place, or an object. The connection varies from ghost to ghost and depends on what was most important to the person in life</em>. 

</p><p>  “Bow!” Glimmer blurted his name so abruptly that he nearly fell over. 

</p><p>  “What? What’s wrong?” He looked alarmed to say the least. She made a note to try not to startle the poor boy in the future. But she didn’t exactly know if she could keep that promise. 

</p><p>  “We need to find Adora’s tether.” Glimmer held up the page she’d been reading in the book. Bow blinked, still processing the abrupt interruption and the level of intensity with which Glimmer had presented the text. 

</p><p>  “Tether?” He repeated. Glimmer nodded fervently and set the book down between them.

</p><p>  “It’s what keeps a ghost here on Earth.” Glimmer said. “Maybe that’ll help us set her free from the house. So, she can move around.” Bow chewed his lip. He didn’t know how much thought Glimmer had put into her idea, but something was nagging at the back of his mind. He felt like there had to be more to this “Tethered” concept. He opened his mouth to say something but shut it at the sight of Glimmer’s glowing smile. 

</p><p>  “We can help her, Bow.” Glimmer leaned back, the tension melting off her into a tired, but relieved expression. After days of searching and reading, they’d finally found something they could specifically ask Entrapta about when they returned to the shop. 

</p><p>  “Glimmer, I think we should look at the flash drive.” Bow said finally. Glimmer’s face fell at the words, but she fixed her smile back on.

</p><p>  “Come on, Bow, we have <em>this</em>!” She gestured to the book. Bow sighed. Was Glimmer afraid of what the drive might contain? He wasn’t sure what to make of it since it was Dr. Woodson who gave it to the two teens. She could have just given them a drive full of ghost videos or some pie baking tutorials for all they knew. But somehow Bow sensed it wasn’t flippant or general. Entrapta knew who Adora was. Not the just ghost version of Adora, but the living Adora. 

</p><p>  He watched Glimmer packing up, her smile broad, threatening to break through her entire face. Bow could at least watch or look at the drive and prepare Glimmer for whatever it contained. Some piece of him hoped she was right in believing that the book was all they needed. 

</p><p>  Glimmer turned to her friend. “Thanks for helping me with this, Bow.” He smiled. 

</p><p>  “Hey, that’s what best friends are for, right?” Glimmer beamed.

</p><p>  “I’ll see you tomorrow evening, right? I have to go to a tour with Mom of my new school.” She rolled her eyes. Bow had been in the building enough times to know that there wasn’t much to look at. So, he sympathized with his friend’s plight.

	</p><p>  “It’ll be over before you know it. It’s not a big building, so maybe it’ll be a short tour?” 

	</p><p>  “Let’s hope so.” Glimmer grunted. 

	</p><p>  It was not a short tour. The Principal was all too eager to show the two newcomers around, given that it was rare that anyone ever visited Alwyn at all, let alone moved there permanently. 

	</p><p>  “And this is the science lab. We have all the best equipment…” Glimmer zoned out as the Principal droned on about the facilities, Angella nodding along in approval. The pink haired girl wandered out of the classroom and found herself walking along the endless rows of lockers before she found herself in another hallway. She rounded the corner to see her reflection in a glass case set next to some portraits of what she could only assume were past principals. 

	</p><p>  She walked along the case. It had trophies, medals, and photos of past sports teams. None of them truly piquing Glimmer’s interest as someone who preferred the arts over athletics. 

	</p><p>  “Glimmer?” Angella’s voice came from around the corner, growing louder with her footsteps as she approached. Glimmer started to turn away from the glass case. 

	</p><p>  “Coming, Mom!” She caught a glimpse of one of the older photos. It was faded and she assumed it was of a class or team that had come and gone long before Glimmer had even been born. In her curiosity she looked closer at the photo. It was set next to a dusty old trophy with a running figure and small plaque on the front of the trophy reading: Bright Moon Cross Country Competition 1st Place: Alwyn High. Glimmer’s eyes trailed across the teenagers all crouched or standing together, the trophy down in front and all of them in their mesh running shirts and loose shorts. Her eyes came then to rest on the face of the girl in front, her smile broad and holding the trophy up as she knelt. The expression came to mind that Glimmer hadn’t until that point though of in such a literal way, but there was no other way to put it: it was like seeing a ghost. Because this girl was a ghost. Adora was right there, alive, at least in that photo, and she was smiling without a care in the world. 

	</p><p>  Glimmer’s hands shook and she bit her lip to keep from losing it in front of the glass case. “Glimmer?” The girl didn’t turn as her mother approached, the Principal not far behind. “There you are.” 
	</p><p>  “Oh, you found our hall of fame. We have so many good athletes here.” She looked over at Glimmer. “Are you an athlete?” 

	</p><p>  “No,” Glimmer said quietly, her voice nearly betraying how much she was struggling to process seeing Adora’s face without the transparency or the ghostly glow. Glimmer had known Adora had been alive at some point, so why was this so jarring? 

	</p><p>  “That was a fantastic year for our school.” The Principal continued, talking more to Angella at this point than to Glimmer. “We won the Etherian Cup,” She pointed to the cup in the case. “And the Captain of the team was the strongest we’ve had in years: Adora Reynolds. Won us the cup three years in a row.” 

	</p><p>  “Three years?” Angella said, looking at the Principal with polite curiosity. Glimmer lifted her head to see the Principal shift awkwardly for a moment. “Did she quit?”

	</p><p>  “I’m not sure. This was before I was Principal, you see. All I know is that Adora Reynolds didn’t finish her Senior year.” The head of school shook her head. “Well, let’s not waste the day. Shall we look at the library next? We have an incredible collection of tomes.” 

	</p><p>  The Principal continued talking as she walked away, unaware that she’d lost half her audience with her brief history lesson. Glimmer stared hard at the photo; she couldn’t look away. Adora had a future, she was a runner, she was a student here, and something took that away from her. 

	</p><p>  Glimmer gritted her teeth. “Glimmer, Honey, what’s wrong?” Angella scrutinized her daughter. The girl had begun the tour with a bit of expected boredom on her part. That much Angella had expected from the teen. But the way Glimmer was looking at the photos went beyond boredom or frustration. She seemed angry and as soon as Glimmer sniffed, wiping a stray tear from her face, Angella resolved to end the tour then and there. 

	</p><p>  On the car ride home Glimmer was silent and her expression was almost stoic in comparison to her tear-stained anger from earlier. Glimmer only picked and pushed her dinner around before giving up. Not too long afterwards she crawled into bed to stare at the ceiling, abandoning the idea of sleeping altogether. It was then that she felt the emotions welling up inside her once more. 

	</p><p>  It didn’t seem to make sense that Adora wasn’t upset that her life had come to an abrupt halt for whatever reason. No matter how many times Glimmer thought about it, she couldn’t reconcile the idea. She opened her eyes to find herself staring up at a familiar glowing figure. 

	</p><p>  “Glimmer. Are you okay?” Adora floated back a bit as the other girl sat up. The pink haired girl stared at the covers. 
	</p><p>  “Aren’t you upset?” 

	</p><p>  Adora looked confused. “Upset?” She stared and then her form shifted slightly when she saw how red Glimmer’s eyes were and the wetness staining her cheeks.

	</p><p>  “Why are you crying? What happened?” Adora clenched her fists. Glimmer rubbed her eyes. The ghost wasn’t sure what she could do, but if someone had hurt Glimmer, there was no telling how fast the ghost would leap into action. 

	</p><p>  “Because you won’t.” Glimmer said. “You had a life and you’re not upset that you lost it?”

	</p><p>  Adora blinked, her expression softening from defensiveness to a gentle smile. She floated over and as much as possible, tried to be comforting without the physical touch she lacked. Glimmer looked over at her friend, taking in the pale form that was so far removed from the lifelike photo from earlier. It was too much. “I’m okay, Glimmer. This is just how it is. This is my fate I guess.” 

	</p><p>  Glimmer scowled. “You don’t sound okay.” 

	</p><p>  Adora sighed. “I am.” She smiled, trying to alleviate the tension she sensed from her friend. There had to be something Adora wanted. Even if it was only while she was alive. “Did something happen today?” 

	</p><p>  Glimmer stuffed down the urge to tell Adora she couldn’t ask Glimmer what was wrong when she was dodging the same question. The ghost clearly had years of compartmentalizing and isolation over Glimmer. It didn’t help the living girl’s frustration though. 

	</p><p>  “No. Nothing happened.” Glimmer didn’t mean for the anger to seep through, but it showed on the ghost’s face. She floated back. 

	</p><p>  “Oh.” Adora said quietly. “I’ll leave you alone if you need it.” She didn’t wait for an answer before she flickered and vanished, leaving the room in darkness. 

	</p>
<p></p><blockquote>
  <p>  It had taken most of the day to climb the hills of the Whispering Woods, leaving the small group of teen campers to set up as night fell around them. The fire crackled after Adora added a log to the now stretching blaze as it seemed to reach for the stars overhead. The blonde’s blue eyes shone with the reflection of the night sky in awe. She felt a temporary rush from the races she ran that lasted for a while. But the stars she could get lost in for hours. It took her beyond the ground, beyond the Earth, and somewhere she only dreamed about or read in books. 

</p>
  <p>  “So, since we’re in the Whispering Woods, we should tell some ghost stories.” Adora’s head whipped around to the familiar face of her closest friend, Catra. “But I bet you’re all too scared.”

</p>
  <p>  One of the freshmen, a short girl named Frosta immediately objected, “Hey, I can tell a good one. You’re all the scaredy cats here.” She then jabbed a finger at Catra. “I’ll scare your pants right off.” 

</p>
  <p>  Catra raised an eyebrow at Frosta’s defensiveness but seemed satisfied at the lack of objections as everyone settled into roasting their marshmallows. “Well, if Adora thinks she can handle it this time.” 
</p>
  <p>  Adora threw an uncooked marshmallow at her friend. “I can too. I’m not scared of the dark. Or ghosts.” 

</p>
  <p>  Catra laughed. “I’ll believe it when I see it.” She looked around. “So, who wants to go first?” 

</p>
  <p>  “Me!” Frosta yelled, and before anyone could comment she launched into her tale. “This is the story of the Bright Moon monster.”

</p>
  <p>  “Bright Moon monster?” Mermista deadpanned, folding her arms across her chest and smirking. “Sounds <em>very</em> scary.”

</p>
  <p>  “That’s because you haven’t met it.” Frosta said, shooting a glare at Mermista. The older girl shrugged, seemingly already bored by the whole concept of ghost stories. She went back to attempting to roast her marshmallow without burning it. Another failed attempt was thrown into the flames before she gave up and decided to just eat the raw ones from her bag. “On the nights when the Moon is highest the Bright Moon monster rises from the swamp-”

</p>
  <p>  “Wait, swamp? Does Bright Moon have a swamp?” Perfuma piped up, leaning forward with interest. 

</p>
  <p>  “I am <em>trying</em> to tell a story here!” Frosta burst, glaring at everyone. Perfuma stifled a chuckle and everyone else laughed. Frosta continued her story, it wasn’t scary and Adora found herself staring once more at the stars through the lengthy tale. 

</p>
  <p>  “Okay, now for a real ghost story.” Catra said. The group groaned. “I promise it’s good! Now, this one is about our school. Before the school was even built it was a house that belonged to a couple. They lived there for a long time. After a while, the wife became sick and died, leaving the old man to himself. He kept her rocking chair out to honor her memory but after a while he noticed it would be slightly out of place when he came back home.” 

</p>
  <p>  Adora could see the excitement in Catra’s eyes as she continued her tale. Frosta had forgotten her initial annoyance at being interrupted earlier and was lying on her stomach, engrossed in Catra’s story. 

</p>
  <p>  “One afternoon he came home, and the chair was in a completely different room.” Adora at this point had pulled her blanket out of her backpack and had covered her head in it. “You’re missing the best part, Adora!” 

</p>
  <p>  The blonde didn’t take the blanket off. But she could still see bits of the fire through the hole she left and by the time Catra had finished her story the fire had been reduced to embers and then everything was dark. The only lights were the stars. Adora didn’t think much about the moving chair, or rather she avoided it because it was scary. There was a ghost in the old man’s house, and ghosts were scary. 

</p>
</blockquote><p>  Adora sat on the windowsill, eyes trained on the outside, trying for what seemed like the umpteenth time to see the stars. But they were always just out of reach, always leaving her alone in the dark of the house.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Tethered</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Glimmer's search for answers on how tethers work continues. Adora remembers the day she died.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Hi All,</p>
<p>Not much to add here from the last note except some content warnings. This chapter will get emotionally intense (as you can guess from the chapter summary). I promise this story's end is much more hopeful. </p>
<p>CW: Verbal abuse, screaming, and parental abuse.</p>
<p>Next up is the last chapter before the epilogue. Bear with me, this is going to be a rough ride. </p>
<p>Thank you for reading! Let me know what you think!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>  Glimmer woke with the words from her last conversation with Adora still echoing in her mind. They played on a loop that forced her eyes open to stare at the ceiling. She glanced around, then dragged her hands over her face when she couldn’t find Adora’s familiar glow. There wasn’t anything wrong as far Glimmer could tell with what she’d said to the ghost. But something the pink haired girl had said hurt Adora. 

	</p><p>  Admittedly, Glimmer didn’t fully understand the ghost thing entirely. But she knew enough to feel like being alone, as Adora had been for so long, she had to want . The pink haired girl picked up her phone and after sending Bow a text about hanging out, she started out onto the landing. She glanced up and down the hall. It was all quiet and empty. 

	</p><p>  Glimmer hated to leave things the way they were, but if Adora wanted to stay hidden, then Glimmer decided to take a leaf from the ghost and let her have her space. Not that there was much the pink haired girl could have done. Adora could vanish into thin air and phase through walls, float, and possibly had supernatural powers. As far as Glimmer knew, Adora probably thought that a living girl was too boring. 

	</p><p>  Once more Glimmer found herself at Bow’s house for the afternoon. He waited until she had settled into the pillows they’d set on the floor before setting his computer between them. 
	</p><p>  “I watched the video on the drive.” Glimmer looked over, expecting him to continue. But he didn’t. He simply nodded to the computer. 

	</p><p>  “You’re not going to tell me what it’s about.” She stated. He rubbed his shoulder and then slowly shook his head. Her eyes went to the screen where the drive was open, the file sitting there, daring her to have the guts to see the truth. 

	</p><p>  It wasn’t until the funeral that Glimmer decided she hated seeing much black. Everything in her life had been colorful and her father’s stories were always full of energy. The black on black and the silence of everyone standing around was unbearable.
 
	</p><p>  Glimmer had gone with her mother that morning to the hospital and as far as she was concerned, this was just another Friday. Micah had been sick before, but he always smiled and read to Glimmer when she visited. Today she had her book tucked under her arm as she walked with Angella to the front desk. The conversation turned to mumbles before Glimmer tuned in to see her mother tensing. 

	</p><p>  “Glimmer, I need you to wait here.” Angella said. Glimmer didn’t have any time to think about what was happening before a nurse came by to take the small girl to wait in the visitor’s lounge. Next, she looked up as her mother entered the lounge. She remembered asking over and over if Micah could read the book. But each time Angella had shaken her head.
 
	</p><p>  When they came home Glimmer had taken the book and any photos she could find and threw them all in a box. No one explained to her what happened. It was always, “Wait.” 
	</p><p>  Glimmer <em>had</em> waited. For hours in the visitor’s lounge that was all she’d done.  She’d sat waiting for what she thought would be another visit with her father. She wondered what voices he’d use when he read. Then the door to the waiting room opened, closed, and in a matter of minutes her father was gone. 

	</p><p>  Glimmer clicked on the video. She could feel herself wincing in anticipation. A hand came to rest on her shoulder. No words, just a simple gesture of solidarity. 

	</p><p>  She didn’t know what to expect. As the video began it took her a few minutes to realize she was looking at the inside of Razz’s shop. The eccentric shop owner was serving pie, just as she had to Bow and Glimmer, to two other teens. Glimmer didn’t recognize the one with dark hair, and two unusually mismatched eyes. But her eyes immediately recognized the blonde sitting and chatting with Razz as if they were old friends. 

	</p><p>  “She wouldn’t come out from underneath her blanket,” The other teen was saying to Razz. 

	</p><p>  “Catra!” 

	</p><p>  “What? It’s true. This was a <em>good</em> ghost story.” Catra said to Razz, pausing as though she expected praise or a question on the part of the supernatural expert.
 
	</p><p>  “Not all ghosts are bad, Dearies,” Razz said with a smile. “Just people who need a little help letting go.”

	</p><p>  Catra shoved more pie in her mouth and then almost immediately stated, “A lot of help is more like it. I mean, just hurry up and move on.” She swallowed. “Seems pretty simple to me.”

	</p><p>  Razz smiled kindly at the teen, but focused most of her attention on Adora, who was lost in thought. “What kind of help do they need?” 

	</p><p>  “It’s the same as the living. Everyone needs someone who cares.” The shopkeeper replied, then proceeded to serve more pie. “Ah, such a mess, I’ll need to find broom.”

	</p><p>  The video went on for a few minutes like this. As the teens got ready to leave, Razz stopped Adora. “You are brave, Dearie. But it’s okay to be scared too.” Wherever the camera was in the shop, it was facing away from the two, but at this point Glimmer recognized the voices well enough to be able to tell who was speaking. 

	</p><p>  “I’m not scared,” Adora said. Glimmer’s brow furrowed. She’d heard those words before. They were just as big a lie in the video as they were when Adora repeated them like mantra to Glimmer. Madame Razz laughed.

	</p><p>  “Yes, yes. Not scared. But hiding under a blanket?” Razz smiled. Adora’s ears burned in embarrassment. 

	</p><p>  “Like I said, Dearie. You are brave. But that does not mean you have to be fearless.” She waved the girl away. “Come back tomorrow. I have to find this book… and broom.” She then went back inside, and the video feed fizzled out into static before cutting off entirely.  

	</p><p>  The video went black and then started with a light grainy quality. This time Adora was alone in the shop facing the camera. “Are you sure about this, Madame Razz?” The blonde smoothed the red shirt she was wearing. It was the same one Glimmer had seen her in so many times before. But here it was bright, vibrant, and free of transparencies.

	</p><p>  “Go ahead, Dearie.”

	</p><p>  “Okay… Um… This is my video essay. Oh, my name is Adora.” She groaned into her hand. “Can I start over?” 

	</p><p>  “You’re doing great, Adora.” Madame Razz said gently. The girl took a deep breath. 

	</p><p>  “This is my video essay. I know you’ve got so many other students… but I’m not giving up. You want me to run a mile. I’ll run a mile. If you want me to run ten, I’ll run fifteen.” Glimmer grinned. That did sound like something Adora would have done. 

	</p><p>  “And…maybe everyone else has other schools, other places to be… I just want to go here. This is where I’m meant to go. I promise I’ll make the school proud.” The blonde looked off to the side and Madame Razz said something inaudible. The feed then went to static before cutting off.

	</p><p>  “That’s it?” Glimmer breathed. Bow remained quiet as he nodded. “There’s nothing more. Adora must have…” The girl couldn’t finish the sentence. But she knew what she had to do. 
	</p><p>  “Let’s go see Madame Razz again.” Glimmer said. Bow thought of a million objections, but they all died on his lips when he saw how intensely his friend was staring at the screen. He licked his lips. He fervently hoped that Razz had some answers. For Adora’s sake, but also for Glimmer’s. The last time she was there, Glimmer hadn’t been sure what she was looking for or what to ask. This time she knew. 

	</p><p>  The bus ride felt far shorter and when she arrived with Bow at the shop in the woods, Madame Razz was waiting for them. 

	</p><p>  “Welcome back, Dearies.” Madame Razz said. Behind her Entrapta looked up from her work at one of the book laden tables. 

	</p><p>  “Dr. Woodson, I have some questions for you.” Glimmer said. Entrapta grinned, setting down whatever she was working on to meet the two teens at the front of the store. 
	</p><p>  “Of course! What do you want to know?” If there was a topic or question Entrapta found strange or unreasonable, Glimmer couldn’t fathom what it could be. Entrapta was a researcher and appeared, at least on the surface, to love all forms of knowledge. To say the least, Entrapta wasn’t afraid of oversaturation of information. 

	</p><p>  “How do you break a ghost’s tether?” Glimmer said. Entrapta blinked, looking a little unsettled by the question. 

	</p><p>  “Break it?” The Researcher repeated. “Why would you want to break it?”  Entrapta shook her head. “Hold on.” She ran to the back and once more retrieved her notebook. “Okay, start at the beginning. Tell me everything about this ghost.”

	</p><p>  Glimmer felt her unease rising. What should she say? That Adora had been stuck for over a decade by herself? That Glimmer wished she could put Adora’s mind at ease? The pink haired girl sighed.  

	</p><p>  “Like I said last time, she lives in my house. I think she’s been stuck there for a long time. Years.” Glimmer stared at her hands as she folded and unfolded them across her lap. Entrapta took vigorous notes, pausing when Glimmer didn’t continue. “I watched the video. It didn’t tell me anything.”

	</p><p>  Entrapta tapped her chin with her pen. “Really? I thought Adora was afraid of something.” 

	</p><p>  Glimmer nodded. “Yeah, ghosts.” Entrapta stopped her tapping to stare incredulously at the younger girl.

	</p><p>  “Ghosts?” The Researcher laughed. “No one is actually afraid of ghosts.” The two teens stared at Entrapta curiously. Nothing she’d said made any sense. Weren’t ghost stories told because people were afraid of ghosts?

	</p><p>  Even Bow looked thoroughly confused. “Then what are people afraid of?”

	</p><p>  Entrapta raised an eyebrow. “<em>Death</em> of course! <em>Everyone</em> is afraid of dying. And ghosts are the closest thing to it. They basically hold the answers to everything that happens after life.” The Researcher looked at the two teens who were, to their credit, attempting to follow Entrapta’s reasoning. It made sense logically, but Glimmer was still sure that people were afraid of the ghosts themselves. 

	</p><p>  “Adora… she’s afraid. And she’s a ghost.” Glimmer looked up at Entrapta, asking the unvoiced question that had buried itself deep into mind. Entrapta paused to write that information down before she answered. 

	</p><p>  “I can’t say for sure. Since I don’t like guessing.” The Researcher set down her pen. “But I’d say Adora is still afraid of dying.” Entrapta thought for another minute. “Or in her case it’s more fear of what comes after. But it all adds up to the same thing, ghost or not.” The expert’s smile faded for second. “You said you wanted to break the tether?” 

	</p><p>  Glimmer nodded. “I think it’ll help her.” The Researcher’s face moved between a few emotions as she processed Glimmer’s words. She knew the ghost expert had some inside knowledge. At first the younger girl assumed Entrapta simply wanted to keep ghosts around to study them and that was why she didn’t want to talk about breaking tethers. But the longer Entrapta remained silent, the more Glimmer felt as if there was something about tethers that wasn’t written in the book.

	</p><p>  “The ghost has to <em>want</em> to let go. Or something significant needs to happen to shock her into it.” Entrapta said slowly. “It would have to be <em>big</em>. Something important to her or something connected to how she died.” She sat back. “This is all theoretical of course. I’ve never had a ghost to test it on.” Her eyes widened a little then.

	</p><p>  “So, it is possible for a ghost to let go and break the tether themselves?” Glimmer said. Bow frowned a little, his eyes shifting as if he wanted to say something, but he stayed quiet for the moment. 

	</p><p>  “Well, if we’re really going to theorize properly here,” Entrapta said, once more tapping her chin with her pen. “I’d say it’s plausible. I’d need more data on the ghost though.” Entrapta paused, “Or since she appears bound to the house, we’d need a power source strong enough to draw her out.” 

	</p><p>  Entrapta got up and then walked to the back, another book in hand. They spent the rest of the afternoon discussing ways to resolve whatever was holding Adora back. But at the end of the day, it came down to the fact that Adora herself held all the answers. Glimmer couldn’t say she was surprised. This wasn’t a scientific question. <em>It would help</em>, the pink haired girl thought with a sigh, <em> If I knew what question I need to ask Adora.</em> 

	</p><p>  Glimmer almost didn’t even hear Bow talking to her when they returned to his house as she bounced ideas back and forth in her head, each one returning as empty as the last. 

	</p><p>  “Hey Glimmer?” She blinked, realizing she’d completely ignored her friend for the last…how long had she been pacing for? 

	</p><p>  “Sorry, Bow. I keep dragging you along for this and each time it feels like we don’t have any answers.” Glimmer said and dropped onto the floor. Bow lowered himself down. 

	</p><p>  “I don’t mind coming along.” He said placatingly. “But, Glimmer, I think you should talk to Adora about this. Entrapta can offer general information. But…” 

	</p><p>  Glimmer looked down. “But Adora is the one who knows what happened.”  Bow wrapped an arm around her shoulders. 

	</p><p>  “I know Entrapta talked about ghosts having unresolved issues here. Do you think Adora just hasn’t made peace with whatever’s keeping her here? If she does, she’ll move on.”
	</p><p>  Glimmer had thought about that idea of moving on, of letting go, in a more abstract sense, but it hadn’t quite sunk in what that meant for the bond Glimmer had made with her ghost friend. “What?”

	</p><p>  “You know…on? Whatever comes next for ghosts?” Bow shifted. Glimmer stared pointedly at her feet. Entrapta was right. It wasn’t ghosts that were scary. It was what ghosts represented that scared people. Glimmer wasn’t scared of Adora at any point. No, but Glimmer was scared <em>for</em> Adora. If Adora was here, where the pink haired girl could see the ghost, it was fine. But beyond that? Glimmer had been avoiding thinking directly about the possibility that if Adora did find out what was holding her back, she really would leave.
 
	</p><p>  Every time Adora’s form shook, and vanished Glimmer was sure it would be for the last time. She would have to hold her breath and wait until the ghost reappeared. It was never for any of the reasons implied by stories or books or any that would normally come to mind when asked what scared Glimmer the most. 

	</p><p>  Yes, she knew what “on” meant. But she didn’t know where that was or if it hurt. Bow couldn’t get any more out of his friend so he simply hugged her as tightly as he could. In the corner of Glimmer’s mind, she realized it must have been so long since Adora herself had been held. 

	</p><p>  That night when Glimmer slowly made her way up the stairs, she couldn’t help but brush her fingers over the banister. So many senses, textures, and even sounds that Adora had gone without for years. She entered her bedroom and to her dismay, it was empty. She let loose a long-ragged sigh.

	</p><p>  “You’re back.” The sound of the voice Glimmer didn’t even realize she needed to hear startled the pink haired girl. Adora was hovering just down the hall from Glimmer’s door instead of her usual place in the room. The respect and acknowledgment of Glimmer’s space, even though Adora had every right to enter the room that was once hers, wasn’t lost on Glimmer. The comment was almost a whisper. Each syllable spoke a woven pattern of uncertainty. One that Glimmer couldn’t begin in that moment to analyze. But she could see the tentative way Adora hovered. 

	</p><p>  “I wouldn’t just leave. This is my home.” Glimmer replied. She didn’t think much of the words. They were facts. Glimmer had moved into the house. But by the way Adora’s eyes shone in tandem with her smile, the words meant something a bit more to the ghost. “And… I shouldn’t have pushed you. I…” Glimmer paused, remembering what Bow had said about talking things out. <em>Small steps</em>, she thought. “I’m sorry.”

	</p><p>  The ghost floated over and attempted to place a hand on Glimmer’s shoulder, her hand phasing through instead. As it reached Glimmer’s sleeve cuff, Adora’s hand slightly moved the fabric. “Hey, I’m the ghost here. You don’t need to worry about me.” 

	</p><p>  Glimmer hated those words. Every piece of it was just filled with years of withering self-worth. In relative silence Glimmer got ready for bed and when the two were settled, she turned to the ghost. “Can I ask you something kinda personal?” The girl said. The images of Adora in the photos at the school were still fresh in the living girl’s mind. It was hard to believe Adora didn’t miss something. 

	</p><p>  The ghost looked over; her expression unreadable. “Sure.” 

	</p><p>  “You don’t have to answer if you don’t want to.” Glimmer added before continuing. She didn’t want a repeat of their last conversation. “Do you miss being outside? You know, doing stuff out there, feeling things or something you miss seeing?” 

	</p><p>  The ghost’s form vibrated a little as part of her struggled to keep the memories at bay. Adora didn’t want to consider it. Because even if she did, it couldn’t change the past. So, what was the point? She was dead. 

	</p><p>  That was all anyone ever seemed to care about. 

	</p><p>  Adora couldn’t tear her eyes from the window. Every car, person, or even animal that passed below that she could see was her only indication that the world was still turning. People were still living, still talking, growing, and she could see the seasons change. The leaves falling, sometimes getting stuck to the windowpane or the snow that fogged up, leaving her alone once more. As far as she knew, the world kept turning and didn’t care if she was part of it. 

	</p>
<p></p><blockquote>
  <p>  The pattering of rain on the window turned her head away from Glimmer. It was on nights like this during the Summer that she and Catra would sneak out onto the roof to go stargazing. Their foster mother, Weaver Reynolds would usually be able to hear them but when it rained, they could hide under the cover the pattering sound on the roof and windows. Weaver was strict and certainly had no patience for dangerous antics. 

	</p>
  <p>  Tonight, was no different as they laughed and took turns keeping a lookout as they opened the window to use one of the slats on the roof to climb up. Adora held out her hand as soon as she was securely positioned outside. The other girl took it and they stared up at the night sky. There were still too many buildings around to see it fully, but the stars were there, shimmering.

	</p>
  <p>  They took turns pointing out constellations and just as Adora was about to name one she heard a loud bang. She tilted her head to look inside, and her blood went cold. Weaver was home and standing in the doorway, looking at two empty beds. They were supposed to be in bed. Adora attempted to get up first, but Catra beat her to it, nimbly climbing back through the window. She dropped to the floor, barely opening her mouth before Adora heard the loud snarling of Weaver’s voice. 

	</p>
  <p>  “We were just stargazing!” Catra was arguing as Adora came through the doorway. 

	</p>
  <p>  “Stargazing? On the roof? You should be studying!” Weaver looked over at Adora, who instinctively put herself between the other two. 

	</p>
  <p>  “We studied earlier.” Adora assured her. “We were taking a break-” Weaver silenced Adora with a glare. The blonde wilted but didn’t remove herself from her position between her foster mother and Catra. 

	</p>
  <p>  “Adora is a top student. She cannot be wasting time with you.” Weaver snapped. Catra gritted her teeth and stepped forward, jabbing a hand at Weaver. 

	</p>
  <p>  “I’m just as good as she is. You just refuse to see it.” Catra took another step, only for Adora to place a hand between the others. Catra pushed Adora aside, firmly, but lightly enough that when she surged at Weaver, the force was far more apparent.

	</p>
  <p>  Weaver and Catra continued to circle each other like angry dogs. “I’m going to leave here one day and I’m not going to think about you!” Catra snapped. Weaver laughed at that. 
	</p>
  <p>  “You won’t get far.” Weaver said flatly. Catra grabbed Adora’s hand. 

	</p>
  <p>  “Well, good thing you’re not coming with us.” Catra said. Weaver’s eyes widened and then narrowed, she reached for Catra, bringing her hands back to shove her away from Adora. The blonde broke free and at the last second, moved between Catra and their foster mother. The older woman’s hands slammed into the blonde and with her shoes still slick with rainwater, she slid back and tumbled down the stairs. Her body hit the floor headfirst and then was still. 

	</p>
  <p>  Adora could hear the screaming from the top of the stairs from her foster mother and out of the corner of her eyes saw Catra tearing down the stairs. It was odd, but after a moment Adora’s vision blurred and then she found she was staring not up at Catra, but across the room at the other girl. As she looked down at her body, the shimmering, transparent form, and then registered that her physical body was lying on the ground. She opened her mouth, but her screams were lost in the sea of yelling between Catra and Weaver. 

	</p>
  <p>  Adora could only make out every few words. 

         </p>
  <p>  “Pushed her!”

	</p>
  <p>  “This is your fault!” 

	</p>
  <p>  More screaming ensued and then Catra stood up. Adora tried to call out, once more the other girl couldn’t hear. Then the door slammed. The next scream, before Adora could even find the words to say to the last family she had standing there, came from Weaver as her eyes went from the body to the ghost. Adora could only watch as her foster mother continued to wail in horror. 

	</p>
  <p>  The ghost girl backed away and hid. Not even her foster mother wanted to look at her. The body was picked up at some point. Adora refused to visit the front hall. Weaver Reynolds avoided the ghost and a few days after the house was on the market. Then Adora was alone. 

	</p>
  <p>  For a while she looked out the window, hoping to see Catra or Weaver come back. But they never did. She’d died and the last sound in the girl’s ears before she passed was the screaming. 

	It was the loudest and loneliest sound. 

</p>
</blockquote><p>  “No, I’m used to being here.” Adora said simply, fixing a smile on her face. Glimmer didn’t respond in kind. Her eyes held the ghost with a gentle, yet powerful weight of sympathy. 

	</p><p>  “What do you miss the most?” Glimmer asked. Adora paused, unsure if she’d heard right. But true to her nature, Glimmer got right to the point. She knew the ghost was hurting but now had resolved to ignore the deflections. 

	</p><p>  “I miss the stars.” Adora admitted. “Catra… my foster sister, and  I went stargazing almost every night on the roof.” It was always cold on those nights. The water chilling them to the bone. But in retrospect cold was a better feeling than nothing. “And the camping trips we took to the Whispering Woods. That was the best place to see the stars.” Her eyes subconsciously drifted to the window where she knew she couldn’t see anything. But Glimmer saw it all. The way Adora’s eyes stared longingly, the way her voice grew quiet when she spoke of the things that mattered the most, as if it were a candle, windswept, about to snuff out. 

	</p><p>  There wasn’t any thought to it, but Glimmer’s hand stretched out in the dark and found Adora’s. It slipped through but the sensation wasn’t as cold or tingly as before. For all the nights the ghost had spent in the dark, Glimmer would give everything for Adora to see the stars again.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. Let Go</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Glimmer's last attempt to break Adora free comes to a head.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Hi All,</p>
<p>This is the final chapter. I am writing the epilogue, but this is the final full chapter of this story. </p>
<p>There are a few songs I had in mind while writing this chapter that you can listen to for a mood setting if you want. Most of these are on the playlist I made on Spotify: <a href="https://open.spotify.com/playlist/28tZVFslRG7K7ZBcGYUro6?si=9L93GBh2QX-DaFe-7Jm4aw%22">Here</a></p>
<p>The songs are:</p>
<p>"Last Days" by Yasushi Yoshida<br/>"Saturn" by Sleeping at Last <br/>"Where the Story Ends" by The Fray<br/>"Let Go" by Beau Young Prince (Yes, the one from Into the Spiderverse)</p>
<p>Thank you all for reading and supporting this story. I'll see you at the Epilogue/finalchapter!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em></em>
</p>
<p></p><div class="center">
  <p>
    <em> You taught me the courage of stars before you left.</em>
  </p>
</div><p>
  <em></em>
</p>
<p></p><div class="center"><p><em>How light carries on endlessly, even after death.</em></p>
<p><em></em></p>
<p></p><div class="center"><p>With shortness of breath. You explained the infinite. And how</p></div><p><em></em></p>
<p></p><div class="center"><p><em>rare and beautiful it is to even exist.</em></p>
<p><em></em></p></div><p>I couldn’t help but ask you to say it all again. </p></div><p>
  <em></em>
</p>
<p></p><div class="center">
  <p>
    <em>I tried to write it down. But I could never find a pen.</em>
  </p>
  <p>
    <em></em>
  </p>
</div><p>
  <em></em>
</p>
<p></p><div class="center">
  <p>
    <em>I’d give anything to hear you say it one more time. That the universe was made just to be seen by my eyes.</em>
  </p>
  <p>
    <em></em>
  </p>
</div>
<p></p><div class="center">
  <p>-“Saturn” by Sleeping at Last</p>
</div><p> After the second family moved out, Adora stopped trying to interact with the people who moved into the Reynolds’ house. It was better for everyone if she stayed out of sight as much as possible. As far as she was concerned, they were roommates. Once the living residents realized a ghost roamed the halls, despite her best efforts to remain out of sight and mind, they inevitably would scream and leave. 

	</p><p>  It was the same pattern. Like the passing days, the nights, and for all Adora knew, it all turned out the same in the end. Clocks or calendars, which she’d used diligently in life, Adora paid little mind to. At first, she counted the days on the calendars that were left up by the families. It was something to do. But it wore her down as the days became weeks. Months turned to years and she never left. She never aged. 

</p><p>  She learned in the first year that she could float, drift, and pass through any part of the house. Trying out her limits provided, for a time, something new to test. Every day she tried to move different objects. She never tried anything significant. The last thing she wanted or needed was to scare the living residents. 

</p><p>  Adora had tried a few times to float close to the window to see the sky. But she found that every time she got too close to phasing through, something would jolt her backwards. For a while she accepted that for whatever reason, she couldn’t phase through the house. 

</p><p>  She had been floating through the house one evening in her fifth year, when the voices of her fellow residents reached her place in her room. The family had been using it as an attic of sorts and it suited Adora’s needs simply fine that for most of the year, no one went inside. 

        </p><p> “We should get the telescope out…”

	</p><p>  “Mom, what’s an eclipse?” 

	</p><p>  “You’re about to see.” The voices grew louder, and the door opened, causing Adora to vanish instantly. She waited while the family retrieved the telescope, reappearing as the door clicked shut. If she could just get onto the roof, she could see the eclipse and the stars. 

	</p><p>  Adora floated close to the window and attempted to push it. The wood squeaked as it slid up but as soon as she tried to stick her hand outside, she was knocked back. Through the open window she could see part of the sky. It was so close. She could picture them in her mind. The memories were fading away the longer she remained a ghost. But she could still imagine the stars as they once were.

	</p><p>  Adora grunted in exertion and threw herself into the window. Her body hung in the open air for a second. The eyes of the family turned from their place down below, staring wide eyed at the ghost now floating outside the window. Adora took one look up at the sky, the red glow of the eclipse and the glow of the stars shining through her. Then her form began to vibrate, small shakes at first and then a wave of energy tore through her form. It split through her incorporeal body and twisted it before the same jolting force that pushed her from the window yanked her unceremoniously back inside. 

	</p><p>  If she were alive, she would have had to catch her breath. Instead, she simply floated, fearfully looking around at the house. It had never felt like a hostile place or even a cage until then. But at that moment the ghost knew she was bound to the house. 

</p><p>  The family didn’t stay long after that night and soon the rumors of the house’s haunting spread. There was a family who lived there to scope out the haunting, but Adora stayed hidden. After that, the house was empty. She had her run of the place and spent her days absently pushing around objects in the house. Only things that had been in the house for a while seemed to respond to her powers. 

	</p><p>  At least, that was what she’d assumed until Glimmer showed up. Adora had seen the two drive up after years of silence. The ghost didn’t plan to make an appearance, but she saw Glimmer stumbling back, the horror on her mother’s face so familiar. Adora glanced around and saw a chair one of the movers had set to the side. She shoved it hard in Glimmer’s direction, knocking her out of harm’s way. Then as Adora began to vanish she caught the pink haired girl’s eye. There was no fear, at least, not of Adora herself. For the first time Adora had connected with someone in the house and they hadn’t looked away. 

	</p><p>  Each time they interacted Adora was continually surprised by Glimmer’s lack of concern. Adora was dead. That had to mean something. It had to everyone else. But she kept surprising the ghost. When the moment came that Adora expected the living girl to turn and leave, she came back. 

	</p><p>  That argument was the most distance they’d had from one another. Adora could feel herself floating away, the hallways seeming to grow in length between them. Yet, Glimmer came back. 

	</p><p>  “Glimmer?” The ghost drifted into the room. Glimmer was nowhere to be found when Adora returned to the room. After they’d spent the night talking, Adora was sure they’d had a breakthrough. After Glimmer had fallen asleep, Adora had taken to floating through the house, memories flickering in and out of her mind.

	</p><p>  The ghost started to drift through the wall when the door opened. Glimmer came in, focused heavily on her phone but grinned when she saw the ghost. “Adora.” There was no helping the smile that made its way onto Adora’s lips. It was one thing that the ghost hadn’t heard anyone speak to her with such passion in years, but the way that Glimmer said “Adora,” was careful, like she was holding each syllable with reverence. 

	</p><p>  A moment passed and Adora’s eyes went to the bag in Glimmer’s hand. “Are you going to Bow’s?”

	</p><p>  Glimmer nodded. “Yeah, I think we found something really cool in the Whispering Woods and we’re taking a hike to check it out.” It wasn’t the whole truth, but Glimmer wasn’t sure Adora would approve if she knew that the point of the trip was secretly to find a way to help the ghost. “We should be back tomorrow morning.” 

	</p><p>  The pink haired girl finished throwing clothes and a mix of supplies into the day bag she had before she turned to look at the ghost. “Adora?” There was a pause before the girl crossed the room and once again reached out for the ghost’s hand. She could feel something pulling on her wrist, not quite weighted like a hand should be, but there just the same.
 
	</p><p>  “Hmm?” Adora stared at the other girl. 

	</p><p>  “Hold on just a little while longer, okay? I’ll be back.” Glimmer said, then she was gone. Adora barely had the time to process what Glimmer meant. The Ghost assumed it meant the living girl didn’t want to hurt Adora by leaving again. 

	 </p><p>  Adora waited. It didn’t used to be so difficult. When it became clear that no one was coming back for her, not Weaver, her own foster mother, or Catra, well, waiting was just another word for existing. What would she even wait for? Living people waited for their family to come home, for the seasons to change, or for a package. Something as mundane as a package or a letter would have been worth waiting for. But no one wrote to Adora. As far as they were concerned, she’d died and worrying about how long she’d been waiting was inconsequential. 

	</p><p>  While Adora might have gotten up and floated aimlessly through the house, now she’d felt rooted to the spot by Glimmer’s words. Why did Glimmer have such a strong effect on the ghost? After all this time, why now?

	</p><p>  Something had changed. Glimmer could feel it. She looked up at the path ahead, it was a mess of brambles, bushes, and tree roots twisted in odd angles. The three hikers were led by Entrapta, then came Bow and Glimmer bringing up the rear. When they’d arrived at the shop, Madame Razz had declined the offer to come along. 

	</p><p>  “Dr. Woodson said there was a lot of supernatural energy in the woods. Do you really think I can find something there to help Adora?” Glimmer asked, throwing an uncertain glance in the ghost expert’s direction. 

	</p><p>  Madame Razz gave Glimmer a wistful look. “I think you will find what you need, Dearie.” Then she paused. “Or you’ll find nothing because the answer was never out there. Who knows?” The old shopkeeper laughed and then gestured for Glimmer to move. “Hurry up.” 

	</p><p>  Glimmer couldn’t bear the idea that she’d come all this way just to come back empty handed to Adora. The three reached a clearing which was a shift from the rest of the woods, but other than the creepy overhanging trees, it didn’t feel different than the rest of the woods. 

	</p><p>  She turned to see that Entrapta was taking samples from all the trees and examining the bark. Glimmer adjusted her bag across her back and continued walking. The further she walked, the more the trees began to shrink in size and the woods gave way to a hill that was barren save for some surrounding flowers. Glimmer narrowed her eyes at the sight. It felt out of place, but she continued walking, now committed to exploring this curious place. 

	</p><p>  “Glimmer?” Bow had been distracted by surroundings and didn’t see that his friend had gone off on her own. He took a deep breath to keep himself from worrying too much. <em>She probably just walked on ahead.</em> He passed Entrapta, who was now sitting on the ground taking notes on the plants. 

	</p><p>  He looked on ahead and as he reached the edge of the clearing, he saw a hill up ahead. The silhouetted form of Glimmer was visible from where he stood and then started to meet her up on the hill. 

	</p><p>  The hill wasn’t steep, but it did require more exertion than Glimmer had planned for and she took a moment to catch her breath when she reached the top. She saw that the hill’s flowers were all clustered around the same area. Her eyes fell on the notable stone that sat in the small sea of flowers, surrounded by flowers and flourishing plants. There was no mistaking what it was by the time Glimmer came close enough to read the inscription.

	</p><p>  Glimmer couldn’t bring herself to look at what she knew was there. “It’s the same thing for everyone, Dearie.” The girl started. Madame Razz stood there, a small bouquet of flowers in her hand. She passed Glimmer and set them down in front of the stone. 

</p><p>  “You’ve been coming here all this time.” Glimmer said. Madame Razz nodded quietly. There was no way for Adora to even know there was still someone out there that cared enough about her to remember. “You didn’t know she was still…that she was a ghost.” 

</p><p> Madame Razz sighed, shaking her head. “So long. Ah, so brave, My Adora is.” She looked sadly at the gravestone. “And so lonely.” 

</p><p>  Glimmer clenched her fists. <em>There has to be something I can do.</em> The shopkeeper left the girl to her thoughts as Bow found his way up the hill. 

</p><p>  “Glimmer, there you are. What are you…?” He trailed off as he followed her gaze to the gravestone. It was one thing to see Adora every day as a ghost, but another to see the finite way that the marker detailed her short life. Madame Razz was the only one who regularly visited as far as Glimmer could tell. 

</p><p>  “Oh, you two came to visit the memorial.” Entrapta stood a small way down the hill with a pack stuffed with vials and jars of samples slung over her back. She looked pleased with her findings. “Madame Razz comes here almost every day.” 

</p><p>  “Every day?” Glimmer repeated. 

“For a long as I’ve known her, yes.” Entrapta said. “Well, we better make camp. We’ll need to be in the woods for this to work though.” She started back down the hill. Bow paused as Glimmer stared down the stone for a minute before she fell into step with Bow.

</p><p>  “You going to be okay? We can always go back if it’s too much for you.” Bow said. Glimmer shook her head. Whatever it took, she’d see it through. 

</p><p>  Around the campfire Bow distributed the food his fathers had packed while Entrapta spent her time looking through her book. “So, when a ghost is summoned in a séance, you usually want to surround the ghost with things to bring it out. Things that will make a ghost react strongly.” Entrapta said as she set the book down in front of her. “But when you’re helping a ghost find peace or let go, I suppose you’d have to do the opposite.” 

</p><p>  Bow paused with his sandwich midway to his mouth. “Wait, opposite?” Then he thought about her words. “You mean you’ve never done this before?” 

</p><p>  “Oh, I’ve done ghost seances.” The ghost expert said with a wave of her hand. “This case is incredibly unique. But I think I’ve theorized a way for us to help Adora make peace so she can release her tether.” 

</p><p>  “Okay, so what do we do?” Bow asked. Entrapta shook her head.

</p><p>  “Not <em>us</em>.” She pointed over at the other teen. “<em>Glimmer</em> is the one connected to the house. Therefore, she’s the closest to Adora herself.” Both teens exchanged confused looks. Somehow Entrapta managed to explain everything and nothing all at the same time. 

</p><p>  “Me? What can I do?” Glimmer asked. Entrapta rummaged in her bag and withdrew a vial.

</p><p>  “If my theory is correct, then you can use your connection to call her back to where she died. She can face the truth of it there and hopefully move on.” Glimmer chewed on her lip. She wasn’t sure if any of this was going to truly be what Adora wanted. But something had to be done. 

</p><p>  “Tell me what to do.” Glimmer said. Entrapta nodded, beaming with excitement. Bow tried to hide his concern, but something about this didn’t feel right. He wasn’t sure what it was. 

</p><p>  Entrapta drew a diagram and then took dirt from a vial in her hand, spreading it along the diagram. “In order for this to work, you need to stand inside here.” The ghost expert said, gesturing to the circle.

</p><p>  “Wait, she’s going to be in the middle of that?” Bow said. “Do you even know if it’s safe?” 

</p><p>  Glimmer put a hand on his shoulder. “It’s okay, Bow. I’m sure Dr. Woodson knows what she’s doing.”  The truth was Glimmer had no idea if Entrapta knew what she was doing. She had admitted openly that she’d never done anything like a reverse of her previous summoning. It also was unclear how well those events went. If Entrapta was scared or uncertain, she didn’t let it show. But this was for Adora and Glimmer had chosen to follow through on the promise she’d made to herself regarding the ghost girl. 

</p><p>  Entrapta nodded once more to Glimmer, who stepped inside the circle, careful not to shift any of the diagram out of place. She then turned to the ghost expert to indicate she was ready. “Glimmer, you need to hold the object I told you to bring.” Glimmer held the small piece of wood she’d gotten from the outside of the house. The ghost expert began to read from her text, with each word, the diagram slowly began to glow, and the tress began to groan, creaking in anticipation of the supernatural powers at work. Entrapta was certainly right about the woods having their own supernatural presence. 

</p><p>  Glimmer looked up at the sky. The stars were sparkling far brighter without the lights or buildings to block them. There was a small crackle around the lines at the edge of the diagram and then it hissed as it ran through to the center where Glimmer was standing. 

</p><p>  “Glimmer!” Bow’s yell was lost as the circle let loose howl-like noise before the glow ripped through Glimmer’s body as if she were part of the diagram itself. The light continued to spread, forcing Bow and Entrapta back. “Glimmer!” 

</p><p>  The door to the bedroom opened and Adora opened her mouth to greet the incoming visitor, stopping and turning transparent as soon as she could see it was Angella. “Glimmer? Honey? Are you in here?” 

</p><p>  The older woman stood still in the dark room. Adora frowned as Angella looked around. It didn’t take long for both Adora and Angella to connect the dots. The distraught mother rushed out of the room, leaving the ghost alone once more. Adora appeared instantly, her body glowing brighter than it ever had before. She felt herself growing lighter by the second. It was as if someone or something was pulling her elsewhere. Adora floated downstairs.

</p><p>  “What do you mean? She’s not with you?” Angella was saying on the phone. “No, she said she was spending the day with Bow.”

</p><p>  Adora knew that if she had a body, she’d feel fear tingling her skin or some equivalent. But as it was, she simply felt as light as she usually did. Only now she knew something was wrong. She floated back through to the room. Her body was dragging her somewhere. It was different from the force that kept her pinned to the house. This was stronger than that recoil she’d felt when she tried to break free of the house so many years ago. Her body then erupted in an almost fiery glow and Adora knew she had to leave once more. 

</p><p>  This time she wasn’t sure she could come back. The house was the only thing keeping her connected to the Earth. Adora concentrated on the window and flew at it as hard as she could. She hadn’t felt pain or rather the sensation she’d felt the last time she’d phased outside the house was like her whole body was being twisted in space. If she had a stomach, it would have made her nauseas. This time, she felt everything. 

</p><p>  The pain was sharp and constant. It wasn’t Adora’s pain. She could feel her glowing body twisting and the light was dying fast. She pushed away from the house still and followed the pulling feeling from before, reeling her hook, line, and sinker. As she watched the house disappear in the distance, with it went that anchoring feeling she’d felt since the day she’d died. 

</p><p>  The glowing continued to spread throughout the woods. Bow and Entrapta were now unable to even see Glimmer amid the howling and whipping glowing powers emanating from the ground. 

</p><p>  “We need to get her out of there!” Bow yelled. Entrapta looked between him and the glowing circle.

</p><p>  “We can’t go in there! It’s not stable!” 

</p><p>  “I can’t leave her in there!” Bow yelled and started to move towards the circle of light. Entrapta grabbed his arm and pulled him away from the magnetized force that seemed to be trying to drag the entire force in with it. He glanced around frantically, eyes wide and then he let loose a cry. “I shouldn’t have let her do this. Why didn’t I stop her? It didn’t even work! Adora’s not here and she doesn’t-”

</p><p>  “Bow!”

</p><p>  “And how would she even get here in this mess-”

</p><p>  “Bow!” Entrapta halted his tirade with a light squeeze of his arm, and he looked up in disbelief. “It’s Adora.”

</p><p>  Adora was there all right. She was floating, her body appeared more intensely bathed in light than usual. Bow watched as she approached the glowing mass in the diagram circle and it immediately died down. As the glow released, Glimmer dropped to the ground. 

</p><p>  The ghost reacted faster than either human watching the whole strange event unfold. Bow surged forward but kept his distance from the circle. Adora was floating near Glimmer and as soon as the two touched her body lost its glow almost entirely. 

</p><p>  “Oh, Glimmer. What did you do?” The ghost held Glimmer in her arms. Adora couldn’t feel anything from the other girl. Now that the ghost was slowly becoming corporeal she could tell Glimmer wasn’t breathing.  “Can’t you see I’m not worth this?” She murmured. All she wanted was for Glimmer to be safe. Adora pressed her forehead to the other girl’s. The shimmer returned to Adora’s form for a moment before it passed through Glimmer’s body. The ghost was now a dulled sliver of the form she’d had before. 

</p><p>  Two dark eyes opened to stare up at Adora. “Y-you came.” Glimmer murmured. “Dr. Woodson said you would.” Adora could feel Glimmer shivering. For whatever reason, in the moment, she could feel how warm and still cold Glimmer was. 

</p><p>  “You called me.” Adora said, both in a somber realization and with some affection. “I had to come.” The other girl must have caught the sadness in Adora’s voice because she sat up a little, looking into Adora’s eyes.

</p><p>  “Wait…” She looked down at Adora’s body. It was slowly vanishing. “You… you can’t stay. Can you?” Glimmer could feel the ache in her chest growing with every passing minute. This was her fault.

</p><p>  “Hey.” Glimmer looked into two blue eyes for the first time. “We can see the stars together.” Both drew their gaze skyward. The tiny dots reflected in the two girls’ eyes as they sat in silence. With her eyes turned up, she barely noticed that Adora had taken the other’s hand.

</p><p>  “Glimmer.” The other girl looked over. “I lived my life. Maybe it was short. But I lived it. I want you to live yours now.” She squeezed Glimmer’s hand. The pink haired girl couldn’t stop the tears from coming down as the blonde shimmered. “Thank you for being my friend and part of my home.”

</p><p>  “Adora… You’re worth it. To me.” Glimmer said quietly as the ghost’s hand lost its weight in Glimmer’s palm. The pink haired girl was sure she caught a glimpse of a smile. 

</p><p>  The ghost faded to reveal Bow and Entrapta. “She’s gone.” Glimmer looked down at her hands. She’d done what she’d set out to do. Yet, it didn’t feel at all like she thought it would. “Adora’s gone, Bow.” She threw herself onto him and they just sat there on the grass for a while. Glimmer’s phone, once she’d managed to check it was full of texts and missed calls from Angella. 

</p><p>  Angella picked Glimmer up at the shop later that night and the girl didn’t even argue when she was once again grounded. When she opened the door to her room it felt so quiet and empty. She flopped into bed and then winced when she felt something dig into her side. 

</p><p><em>Dad’s book?</em>  Glimmer opened it and settled onto the bed. On the first page was a small note scrawled in her father’s handwriting:
	
</p>
<p></p><div class="center">
  <p>
    <em>My Dear Glimmer,</em>
  </p>
  <p>
    <em></em>
  </p>
</div><p> <em>By the time you read this, I won’t be here to tell you how much I love you. Or how much I have loved being your father. But this isn’t the end of the story. You’re a strong girl and I know there’s no limit to what you can do when you believe in yourself. I am giving you this book to finish however you see fit. Every place you go, every experience you have and every person you meet will help you shape the stories that become part of who you are. I wish I could be there to see them. I know that you’ll fill the pages with the passion you’ve always had. Write about the hero you’ve always wanted to see in the world.</em>
</p><p><em>Love you,</em>
</p><p> <em>-Dad</em></p>
<p> Glimmer flipped open the cover and found herself staring at a blank page. Her father had given her the book, knowing somehow that she would finish it herself. All this time she’d thought he wrote it all out. It was another lesson, the last from her father. This time, she had to write for herself.  Glimmer wiped her eyes and took out her pen, writing: <em>Once, not so long ago, there was a girl who, to the world was ordinary. But she had powers that no one else could possibly fathom. She was the warrior princess known to many as She Ra. Some say her greatest power is the sword she wielded. But her true power was the love she left behind…</em></p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Join me on my She Ra Discord if you want to chat: https://discord.gg/9t3bkxz</p></blockquote></div></div>
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